For two years, Olivia Donnelly (25) from Kent was told by doctors that she only had a weakened immune system because she suffered from frequent canker sores. A lump on the tongue led to a devastating diagnosis. Olivia Donnelly has suffered from canker sores on and off for the past two years, with the condition affecting her daily life. Sometimes she couldn’t even talk due to the seriousness of her condition, which was especially difficult because she works in the field of HR (recruitment), informuje .
Tests and biopsies from specialists at Ashford were initially negative, and doctors believed Olivia was simply immune-compromised. But earlier this year, Olivia noticed a lump on the side of her tongue that she had never had before, and immediately contacted a specialist. After another biopsy, she was called after two weeks, although she was originally supposed to wait four to six weeks for the results. They asked her to come to the hospital the next day.
“I knew they were going to tell me bad news. Why else would they call me to the hospital the very next day after two weeks of waiting? It was horrible. I had a really bad feeling. When I walked into the room and saw the doctor, surgeon and nurse, that’s when it hit me“, she said. Olivia admitted she was left in shock after being diagnosed with tongue cancer. In young people, this is an exceptionally rare diagnosis. One of the first questions she asked the medical team when she learned about her five millimeter tumor was, “Am I going to die from this?”
“I really didn’t know how to react, but when you hear that you have cancer, you immediately think it’s over. You don’t hear many positive stories about people with cancer, and I also suffer from severe health anxiety. They told me that they would either cut out only a small piece of my tongue, or I would have to undergo a major operation and reconstruction,” he recalls. After further tests, Olivia learned that her condition was more serious than first thought.
Doctors will have to remove 40 percent of her tongue and then reconstruct it using skin from her forearm. They will also remove several of her inflamed lymph nodes. The procedure should last 10 to 12 hours. During the difficult period of recovery, the 25-year-old woman will have to learn to talk and eat again.
“It will be a very intensive operation. I was not mentally prepared for something like this. The total reconstruction will take six months, so my life will basically stop for half a year and the summer is over for me. I had to accept that my life would be put on the back burner for a while. It’s a bittersweet time as we move into our first home. Hearing the words ‘you have cancer’ is scary and scary,” she said. After her diagnosis, Olivia made a video about her experience and shared it on TikTok.
The post received thousands of views and hundreds of comments from people expressing support for her or concerned about their own health. “I can’t even begin to describe how many people wrote to me saying they had the same thing as me and got cured. It’s very comforting,” Olivia says. “Someone even texted me ‘thanks for sharing’ and said they were going to the dentist because they had similar problems. I didn’t expect such support from strangers.” Olivia is now urging anyone with persistent canker sores to contact their GP or dentist immediately.
“If anyone is suffering from the symptoms I had, reoccurring canker sores, go get checked and don’t ignore it. It happened to me. But I’m positive I can get through it. The surgeons told me I’ll be fine,” she added. According to the NHS, symptoms can affect any part of the mouth, including the gums, tongue, inner cheeks or lips.
Symptoms may include:
- Canker sores in the mouth lasting more than three weeks.
- A red or white spot inside the mouth.
- A lump in the mouth or on the lip.
- Pain in the mouth.
- Problems with swallowing.
- Trouble speaking or a hoarse voice.
- A lump in the neck or throat.
- Unintentional weight loss.
