Tongue Cancer victim urges people to give up tobacco

Mumbai: A 67-year-old man affected with tongue cancer, now urges people to give up tobacco habit, which took toll on his life. The early symptoms were neglected by Shivaji Thorat (67), his entire tongue started to get affected and in a matter of time the entire tongue was all covered with red and white matter.

His habit of chewing tobacco had landed him in a point of almost no return. Initially it was some kind soreness due to white and red plaques on the tongue, which caused difficulty in eating. He could not swallow, could not speak. In fact he developed a situation called staccato speech, which resembles the difficulty in speaking if a hot potato or tomato is kept on the tongue.

An Oncologist Dr Minish Jain said, “When Mr Thorat came to us five months back, his tongue was in a bad condition. He had advanced inoperable tongue cancer and with PET scan it was established that the cancer had expanded from tip to the back of the tongue.”

Mr Thorat said, “Never in my wildest dreams I thought that I could be affected by Cancer. I didn’t know what to do. But it was the persistence of doctor who encouraged me to give up tobacco  and start treatment, that I found the ray of hope.”