Oklahoma residents may be interested to know that tongue cancer is an oral cancer that could be misdiagnosed by a physician. It is found in the squamous cells on the surface of the front two-thirds portion of the tongue. Cancer that is present in the remaining one third of the tongue falls under the category of head and neck cancer.
Tongue cancer shares many symptoms with other forms of oral cancer. The condition can be misdiagnosed as a persistent cold or mouth sore. Continuous pain in the jaw or tongue, the inability to chew or swallow easily, difficulty with tongue or jaw movement and a lump in the mouth are just some of the symptoms associated with tongue cancer.
There are multiple treatment options for the disease. Surgery entails removing the whole tumor from the tongue, using minimally invasive methods if possible. Some patients may undergo radiation that targets only the cancerous portion of the tongue so that the therapy times may be reduced and the healthy tissue unharmed.
Chemotherapy, which uses anticancer medication to eliminate cancer cells, is frequently administered with radiation therapy and may be used if the cancer has migrated to the lymph nodes. The cancer cells can be targeted at certain stages of their development by a combination of chemotherapy drugs in order to increase the drugs’ effectiveness. Targeted drug therapy is another treatment used for tongue cancer. It works by inhibiting the molecular growth of cancer cells and is frequently used with radiation therapy or chemotherapy as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Patients whose medical conditions have been misdiagnosed may suffer from a worsened medical condition. People who have been harmed in such a manner might want to meet with a medical malpractice attorney and discuss their situation.