Colorado mom Cameron Newsom is learning to live with a new tongue, recreated from her thighs during a surgical procedure, following her battle with oral cancer.
The 42-year-old mother had nearly half of her tongue removed in 2013 so she could have better chances of surviving the disease. She was diagnosed with a rare type of squamous cell carcinoma that made her unable to eat or drink because of the excruciating pain on her tongue.
Newsom told Newsflare that she was only 33 years old when she learned of her diagnosis. She could not understand why this happened to her since she was in good shape and led a healthy life as a gymnastics coach.
A Puzzling Disease
Newsom's struggle started when she noticed an unusual white spot on her tongue and went to the doctor for a biopsy. The results did not reveal anything worrying, so she knew there was no health scare.
However, a second white spot developed a few months after her first check-up, and her doctor referred her to another specialist. This time, she had a more invasive procedure that did not, once again, indicate any concerning results.
Doctors were puzzled about Newsom's condition until she started feeling her tongue getting sorer and more sensitive. She also began losing weight since she could not eat or drink properly.
Three years later, a third biopsy revealed the truth and relieved Newsom because she finally knew what was wrong with her. She had stage four squamous cell carcinoma.
"It seemed like I was being handed a death sentence there and then," the mother said. "But straight away my reaction was, 'I'm ready to fight this.'"
Newsom's chemotherapy proved to be grueling physically and emotionally because her five-year-old son didn't understand what was going on. There were times when Newsom could only cry out her frustrations since she could not speak to her husband and son. She also could not spend time with her friends; thus, she felt isolated from the people she loved.
@camiflauge #positivity #positivevibes #outlook #lifeaftercancer #extreme #closeups #tonguecancersurvivor ♬Pitch Perfect throwing up - Georgie
The Road to Healing
Despite her struggles, Newsom started to heal from the chemotherapy and waited to have the tumor removed. After a nine-hour surgery at the Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the doctors finally replaced her infected tongue with new muscles and skin from her thighs.
Newsom said that the doctors were supposed to get the skin and muscles from her forearm, but she didn't have enough forearm skin to work with the surgery. However, as an active athlete, Newsom had plenty of skin and muscles to use on her thighs.
The long road to her recovery was not easy because she lived with tubes to her nose and mouth for some time. She was also constantly under monitor and surveillance at the hospital, where she had more chemotherapy and radiation to get rid of the rest of the cancer cells.
Newsom said she had to learn to use her tongue properly again. The weirdest thing from her whole experience was noticing her tongue had tiny traces of hair. However, she is grateful to be able to speak and taste food again after nine years of living with her disease.
Today, Newsom is still coaching gymnastics and living her life like before. She acknowledged that she could not get to where she is without the support of her husband, Anthony, and her extended family.
