Recovering Nicely

***I added image links to the books I've been reading at the bottom of this post. I am always
looking for new books to read and love it when friends tell me about a book they loved.
So I'm offering my recommendations and attaching the Amazon links.
But sometimes I forget I have this new tool until after I publish the blog post. ***

I failed to say in my last blog post that I won't have my biopsy results until Friday, April 15th. That's when my follow-up appointment is scheduled. And you can expect a blog post with the results that evening. My appointment is in the afternoon.

Based on the opinion of both my dentist and my oral surgeon, I don't think it's cancer. So I'm not worrying about it. However, I have read quite a bit about the various kinds of tongue cancer and it seems to me that, even if it is cancer, it would most likely be the squamous cell oral tongue cancer that is the most easily treated (by surgical removal). Probably the worst thing that would happen is I might have to go back for more cutting to make sure enough surrounding tissue was removed. And while I don't love the idea of a repeat performance, it's minor surgery.

I really do think it was just a benign fibroma, though. Tongue cancers are not that common and the risk factors are smoking and drinking. I was a little more worried before I had it removed. But I feel good about it being gone now. If I had it to do over again, I would have had the oral surgery right away (even if it was unnecessary). Because it was not as bad as I expected. And if it is cancer, I will wish I had removed it sooner. Seems kind of silly now that I waited. But my dentist was never concerned about it and I had him look at it every time for any changes. Only when it looked slightly different did he recommend strongly that I see the oral surgeon.

My tongue is still sore. I feel the spot hitting my teeth when I talk and it affects my speech just a little bit. Eating is not as enjoyable right now because I have to be so careful not to bump my tongue with anything -- the food, the eating utensil, my teeth. And even swallowing requires use of your tongue muscle that you never notice when nothing is wrong. But right now I notice. The amount of healing from Monday night to Tuesday was dramatic. I had pain even with pain pills Monday night. And I had to take a pain pill in the middle of the night. (I think that was my fear of not being able to go back to sleep because it was hurting more than the severity of the pain.) But yesterday I took nothing.

Based on the rapid healing of the first twenty-four hours, I expected to feel nothing today. Or nearly nothing. But it's still pretty sore. So maybe it will be for several more days. But considering I'm pretty much a wimp when it comes to pain, you can believe me when I tell you it's no big deal.

There is one positive thing to come out of this. I had already lost several pounds in the last couple of weeks. But not being able to enjoy eating all that much is really helping me to maintain my weightloss effortlessly! And I've had a justifiable reason to stay home and read all day for two days in a row. I've finished "True Spirituality" and "Is The Bible True ... Really?" Both great books.













I'm still reading "Decision Points," which I'm also enjoying.
Maybe I will try not to start another book until I finish GWB's.
(HaHa ... There is very little chance of that.)