A medical student had two-thirds of her tongue removed and recreated with tissue from her leg after her stubborn mouth ulcers were found to be cancer.
Rachel Morton, who lives in Edinburgh, first noticed ulcers on her tongue in August 2019, around the time of her 18th birthday.
The 21-year-old now claims the sores lasted for a year until one side of her tongue became misshapen from being completely covered with it.
After a year of “fighting” to be seen by doctors, the med student switched GP practices in November 2020.
Doctors at her new practice pointed to a biopsy that led to her being diagnosed with tongue cancer on December 18, 2020 at the age of 19.
Following the invasive procedure to reconstruct her tongue, as well as two rounds of chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments, Miss Morton was declared cancer-free in June 2021.
Two years after completing treatment, the aspiring psychiatrist is now working to raise awareness of the symptoms of tongue cancer and the importance of advocating for your health.
Rachel Morton (pictured above), who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, said she started getting ulcers on her tongue in 2019, which she initially only attributed to being busy starting university, but she went to have them examined
Following life-saving surgery, Miss Morton had to learn to walk and speak again and, remarkably, did not take a break from her studies, having resumed online lectures just four days later. The 15-year-old dancer then had two rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of radiation therapy and speech therapy for six months before finally being given the all-clear in June 2021
Miss Morton was plagued by ulcers in her freshman year at University, so she visited a dentist and had several telephone consultations with a doctor – both of whom prescribed her antibiotics. She was also prescribed painkillers and healing pills like Bonjela.
She said: “I’ve been through the process of going through a lot of different things [medical] People and not really taken care of and at one point a doctor actually said, “There’s really nothing else we can do.”
But by the time her sophomore year began, the sores had become extremely painful and her tongue was so deformed she couldn’t stick it out or drink alcohol.
Despite this, Miss Morton, who hails from South Lanarkshire, claims she wasn’t “too concerned” as she was prone to ulcers.
She also had red, sore lips, was extremely tired, and often got a rash around her mouth, which she attributed to exam stress.
But then she got ear infections, sinus infections and tonsillitis.
“Everything on the left side of my face and neck felt off,” Miss Morton said.
Her GP was investigating whether she might have various health problems such as hemochromatosis – an inherited condition in which iron levels in the body slowly build up over many years.
But it wasn’t until she made an appointment with a new GP in November 2020 that she was referred for a biopsy.
Miss Morton said: “The biopsy was probably one of the worst experiences of the whole thing – it was absolutely horrifying.
“You’re lying there, they’re obviously stunning you, but it’s the sound of the scissors cutting your tongue because it’s such a strong muscle, it really took a lot of strength.”
She was told she would hear something in a few weeks.
But the hospital sent her an urgent message just days later, telling her to come inside.
It was then that she was dealt the devastating blow of having tongue cancer – a form of head and neck cancer.
When Miss Morton’s ulcers first appeared as a newborn, she had various telephone consultations with the doctor and also saw the dentist who prescribed both antibiotics for her. By the time she moved to Edinburgh to start her second year at university, they had become so painful that her tongue was so deformed she could no longer stick it out or drink alcohol
But the student said she has fully embraced her scars as they show how strong, resilient and powerful her body is to have fought and overcome such an aggressive cancer
Miss Morton, who is interested in a career as a psychiatrist, has several scars including a “Harry Potter-esque” on her chin, one from a tracheotomy, down her neck, abdomen and leg
Although the exact number of tongue cancer patients is unclear, around 12,000 people in the UK and 51,000 in the US are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year.
Symptoms include red or white spots on the tongue, sore throat, and ulcers that won’t go away. Pain when swallowing, numbness in the mouth, and pain or a burning sensation on the tongue are also signs.
Miss Morton said: ‘We went into the surgeon’s room and he had a box of handkerchiefs there. There were all these little clues that made me think, oh ok, I know what’s going on now.
“He had never spoken to anyone my young age, with tongue cancer. He said he’s only ever treated people over the age of 60, usually men who have smoked and drunk throughout their lives.
Her mother recalled that the surgeon developed a rash because he was so uncomfortable delivering the news.
Exactly one month after the diagnosis, on January 18th, Miss Morton underwent surgery.
Miss Morton had ten separate surgeries in one 16-hour session to fracture her jaw and remove two-thirds of her tongue and lymph nodes.
Surgeons used some muscles and blood vessels from her leg to reconstruct her tongue and the arteries and veins in her neck.
They first attempted to get it off her calf, but after being unable to do so, they used her thigh, so most of her entire left leg had surgery.
Miss Morton had a tracheotomy – an opening made in the front of the neck to allow a tube to be inserted into the windpipe – for about four days afterwards.
A feeding tube was also placed in her stomach for about nine months.
On March 1, 2021, she began her first of two rounds of chemotherapy.
Miss Morton then underwent 30 radiation treatments, which she had five days a week for six weeks, and speech therapy for about six months.
In June 2021 she received the all-clear.
Remarkably, despite her diagnosis and treatment, Miss Morton did not take time off from her studies and returned to online lectures just four days later.
The surgery left several scars, including a “Harry Potter-like” one on her chin.
But Miss Morton is proud of her, adding: “I tend to not use makeup as much anymore because I don’t want to cover up my scars and [don’t want to] feel like i have to [cover them]because it is so.
“I’m proud of my body that I was able to get through this. My scars are a part of me and they will be for the rest of my life and it shows how resilient, strong and powerful my body is and I want to reflect that in myself and be true to myself.”
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