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    • What an Alberta woman thought was a canker sore turned out to be tongue cancer

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    After losing half of her tongue to cancer, an Edmonton woman is raising awareness about the disease that one doctor says is increasingly found in people at low risk.

    At first, Tyra Langille assumed the bump that formed on the left side of her tongue in February 2021 was a canker sore. Multiple health professionals believed the same.

    But instead of eventually healing, the bump grew over several months.

    "It was really red, really inflamed, sticking to the side of my tooth. So every time I talked, it would pull apart," she recalled in a recent interview with CTV News Edmonton.

    "Couldn't really talk, couldn't really eat certain things, couldn't drink soda; it would hurt."

    Between a gut feeling and her Google findings, Langille couldn't let go of her concern. Finally in September, the bump – now the size of a quarter – was biopsied.

    On Sept. 21, she was diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

    The cancerous mass that was removed from Tyra Langille's tongue in October 2021 is seen here.

    "It was very traumatizing. I still feel like I'm in that chair when I talk about it sometimes," Langille said.

    A month later, a surgeon removed the cancer-infected part of her tongue and about 100 lymph nodes to confirm the disease hadn't spread. After recovering, Langille underwent a month of radiation. Since then, she's been working to regain as much tongue function and speech as she can.

    Tyra Langille, a tongue cancer survivor, shows CTV News Edmonton the scar that remains after a surgeon removed about 100 lymph nodes from her neck to check them for cancer.

    RISKS AND SIGNS

    According to Langille's surgeon, tongue cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer in the world, partially because of its prevalence in southern Asia and India.

    Roughly 3,000 Canadians and 300 Albertans are diagnosed each year, Dr. Hadi Seikaly estimated.

    The Canadian Cancer Society projected 7,500 Canadians in 2022 would be diagnosed with head and neck cancer, the category under which tongue cancer is counted.

    Seikaly – a University of Alberta surgery and oncology professor who specializes in head and neck surgeries – says most cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma are smokers and drinkers in the 50-75 age group. But he's noticed an increase in cases of young people like Langille, who does not smoke, only occasionally drinks, and does not have HPV.

    "We can't really identify any risk factor in Tyra's case. Other than being unlucky or maybe a genetic abnormality, but we could not identify that," he told CTV News Edmonton.

    "We're not sure why we're seeing it more common."

    Dr. Hadi Seikaly, a University of Alberta professor and surgeon who specializes in head and neck surgeries, pictured here during an interview with CTV News Edmonton on Dec. 16, removed Tyra Langille's tongue cancer in 2021.

    Langille's case has both her and her surgeon advocating Canadians watch for early warning signs: a mass or ulcer in the mouth or neck area, bleeding, or persistent pain.

    "Can it be terminal? Absolutely. But is it curable? Absolutely," Seikaly added. "If we pick it up early, cure rates are very, very high."

    'ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF'

    Langille was told it would take about two years to fully gain back her speech.

    "It was very difficult. It still is. Like, I'm still learning how to speak certain words," she said.

    But her surgeon is proud of the 26-year-old's progress.

    "She's talking pretty good, isn't she?" he said with a smile.

    After the cancerous mass was removed from Tyra Langille's tongue, surgeon Dr. Hadi Seikaly reconstructed it with tissue from her arm. The reconstructed part, lighter in colour, is pictured here on the right side of the photo.

    During her 14-hour operation, Seikaly removed about half of Langille's tongue and reconstructed that side with tissue from her forearm.

    "We hook up the arteries and the veins in the neck so that that new tissue from her arm becomes her tongue and lives as her tongue, and then we hook up the nerves so in time, she actually feels that skin as her own tongue, and that helps her with function, helps her with speech, helps her with swallowing," he explained.

    Tyra Langille shows CTV News Edmonton the scar that remains after a surgeon removed tissue from her forearm to rebuild her tongue in October 2021.

    Potato chips and veggies can occasionally be difficult to eat. And the original half of Langille's tongue does all of the tasting, so Langille says flavours are a little weaker. She's also unable to work, as the experience has left her a little weaker and unable to talk all day.

    But overall, she's confident in her progress and ready to advocate for more awareness and support for other survivors.

    "Take the time to advocate for yourself, because I had to advocate for myself," Langille said. "And it can happen regardless of what you did and didn't do in your life."

    With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb

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