Understanding Tongue Cancer
- “Top Chef” alum Shirley Chung has courageously announced she’s battling stage four tongue cancer, a type of oral cancer that is also referred to as a head and neck cancer, and is closing her and her husband’s restaurant while she undergoes treatment.
- A mouth sore may be painful and inflamed from the start but heal within two or three weeks. On the other hand, a cancerous lump may not be painful in the early stages and it won’t get better over time.
- Tongue cancer doesn’t always show signs, but symptoms can include: a lump on the side of the tongue that touches the teeth, pain, a sense of fullness in the throat, difficulty swallowing, the feeling of a lump in the neck or throat, voice changes and ear pain.
- Tongue cancer is more commonly found in people older than 40. In addition, tongue cancer is twice as common in men, and smokers are five times more likely to develop tongue cancer than nonsmokers.
- Some people battling a disease like cancer are open to sharing their experiences as much as they can, while others prefer to keep it to themselves. SurvivorNet experts say both approaches and everything in between are valid.
The 47-year-old Chinese-American chef, who has showed off her cooking skills and placed as a finalist in “Top Chef: New Orleans” and “Top Chef: Charleston,” took to social media to reveal her diagnosis, the symptoms that led to it, and photos of her newly shaved head.
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After noting how “calm” she was when she was informed she had cancer, she admitted she one to “always thrive under pressure.”
She explained, “I was extremely focused on getting all the tests and scans as fast as possible, so I can start on the treatment plans. Sunday June 2nd, Dr. Ho, my lead oncologist at Cedar Sinai called to discuss treatment plans. I broke down, crying, trying to put thoughts together and ask questions but physically couldn’t, all I heard was ‘option 1, surgery, 100% removal of your tongue’ … Jimmy was holding it together for both of us, asking if we have any option that I can keep my tongue and the survival rates.”
Chung and her husband were then told about how another person battling tongue cancer was cured through chemotherapy and radiation in Chicago, something she described as a “unicorn case.”
“Higher survival rate, or keep my tongue? I chose to keep my tongue, I am a fighter, I am a chef, I can be that unicorn too,” she added.
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Chung has since completed six weeks of chemotherapy, a treatment plan which consists of her going to the hospital four times a week for injections, and she has “many more” treatment sessions to go.
She continued, “My tumor is shrinking, my speech is much better and I can eat most normal food now. I am learning to lean on others, to let go, to be more vulnerable ….. it took me 2 weeks of contemplating to decide to tell my parents about my cancer, only my close circle of friends and my sister have known until now. I am learning, I can be strong 98% of the time, it’s ok to be not ok.
“I have a tough long road to recovery in front of me. Your love and support will carry me through. Cheer me on, Shirley Chung 2.0 will be reborn in 2025!”
Expert Resources on HPV-Related Cancers
- The HPV Vaccine Gardasil Now Approved For Prevention of Head & Neck Cancers– As Cases Rise in Men
- Get the Facts: What Do We Know About HPV-Linked Throat Cancer?
- HPV-Related Cancers Are on the Rise And More Than 70 Cancer Centers Call for Urgent Action to Increase Vaccinations; What You Need to Know to Protect Your Child’s Health
- Millions More Americans Now Eligible to be Vaccinated Against HPV-Related Cancers
- Majority of Throat Cancer Diagnoses Are Caused by HPV – Here’s What You Need to Know
Included in Chung’s Instagram announcement were photos of both her and her husband with shaved heads. It appears he chose to shave his head in support of his beloved wife.
In addition to her cancer announcement, her and her husband’s also shared that they would be closing their Ms Chi restaurant while Chung undergoes treatment and can take the personal time she needs to heal.
The casual Chinese-American restaurant will have it’s last day of operation on August 4th and the final days to order food from the eatery through Goldbelly marketplace will be August 14th and 15th.
However, they food-loving couple insisted they “will be back” as the closure is temporary.
“We are incredibly grateful to each and every one of you—our staff, supporters, and fans. We have truly enjoyed spreading the dumpling love over the last several years and calling Culver City our home,” they added.
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Tongue Cancer: Understanding the Cause of Head & Neck Cancers
According to Cedars-Sinai, several types of cancer develop in the tongue, with the most common being squamous cell carcinoma. The two types of tongue cancer are:
- Cancer of the oral tongue, which consists of the front two-thirds of the tongue that you can stick.
- Cancer of the base of the tongue, the area which is the back one-third of the tongue that extends down the throat.
Although some people may be diagnosed with tongue cancer and have no risk factors, Cedars-Sinai says this type of cancer is most commonly found in adults 40 years old and up. Men are also twice as likely to be diagnosed with tongue cancer.
Other risk factors, as per Cedars-Sinai include:
- Smoking and drinking alcohol [smokers are 5x more likely to develop tongue cancer than nonsmokers]
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- African-American men have a greater risk than caucasians
It’s unclear what led to Shirley Chung’s diagnosis, but it’s important to understand that symptoms of tongue cancer can include:
- An unusual lump on the side of the tongue
- An ulcer-like lump, of a grayish-pink to red color
- A lump that bleeds easily when touched
Tongue cancer may be hard to spot in its early stages, however, when the cancer develops, patients may experience trouble with swallowing, voice changes, pain in the ear, pain in the throat, or a feeling of fullness in the throat.
HPV and Cancer Risk: The Basics
As for how throat cancer is diagnosed, it’s usually done through X-rays, CT scans, and PET scans. A diagnosis often requires a biopsy.
For tongue cancer treatment, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are usually done.
It’s much more common to know someone who has a head or neck cancer, like tongue cancer, now-a-days than it was several decades ago. And that’s because of its strong connection to the human papillomavirus, also known as HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.
“From the 1980s to the 2010s, the rate of HPV-related head and neck cancers has gone up by 300 percent,” Dr. Ted Teknos, a head and neck cancer specialist, and president and scientific director of University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, told SurvivorNet during a previous interview.
The vast majority of humans in the United States both men and women will eventually get infected with HPV, according to Dr. Allen Ho, a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai.
Expert Resources on HPV-Related Cancers
- The HPV Vaccine Gardasil Now Approved For Prevention of Head & Neck Cancers– As Cases Rise in Men
- Get the Facts: What Do We Know About HPV-Linked Throat Cancer?
- HPV-Related Cancers Are on the Rise And More Than 70 Cancer Centers Call for Urgent Action to Increase Vaccinations; What You Need to Know to Protect Your Child’s Health
- Millions More Americans Now Eligible to be Vaccinated Against HPV-Related Cancers
- Majority of Throat Cancer Diagnoses Are Caused by HPV – Here’s What You Need to Know
“The important thing to know about HPV is that there are many different strains, and only a couple of them tend to be more cancer-inducing,” he told SurvivorNet.
“Probably less than 1 percent of the population who get infected happen to have the cancer-causing virus that somehow their immune system fails to clear, and over 15 to 20 years it develops from a viral infection into a tumor, and a cancer.”
It’s unclear whether HPV alone is enough to trigger the changes in your cells that lead to head and neck cancers, or whether this happens in combination with other risk factors like smoking.
Of course, some people who develop head and/or neck cancers have no known risk factors for the condition. Genetics can play a role in this cancer, too.
Why the HPV Vaccine is so Important in Preventing Cancer
Head and neck cancers are unique in that they’re usually preventable with the HPV vaccine. And that’s why those eligible should get vaccinated against HPV, SurvivorNet experts have told us.
The vaccine is typically given to children before they are sexually active, as HPV is transmitted through sexual contact.
And contrary to some detrimental misinformation circulated online, the HPV vaccine is entirely safe.
There are virtually no side effects with this vaccine, Dr. Jonathan Berek, director of the Women’s Cancer Center at Stanford Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
To Share or Not to Share a Cancer Diagnosis
We admire Shirley Chung’s courage to open up about her diagnosis, but it’s important to remember that if others prefer to keep a diagnosis to themselves or close loved ones, that’s completely acceptable. SurvivorNet experts say both approaches, and everything in between, are valid.
“Patients who have just been diagnosed with cancer sometimes wonder how they are going to handle the diagnosis of the cancer in social situations,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik explains.
WATCH: What to know about sharing your diagnosis?
Questions like “How much information should I share and with whom should I share the information?” are things Plutchik says patients often wonder.
Dr. Plutchik explains, “There is no one right way to handle this diagnosis. People should do what feels right to them.”
A cancer journey can last from just a few months to years to a lifetime, which means cancer warriors may be experiencing a lot of uncertainty until they fully understand where their health stands. This uncertainty can influence when someone is ready to share their diagnosis, Dr. Plutchik notes.
Dr. Plutchik stresses that those close to a person going through cancer should be respectful of their wishes when it comes to disclosing their diagnosis and seeking support.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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