I lost my tongue to cancer —I had a new one made from my arm with a tattoo (2024)

A woman who lost her tongue to cancer had it reconstructed with flesh from her left arm – and has a tattoo on it.

Jennifer Alexander, 52, was 37 when she was first diagnosed with stage one tongue cancer.

For over a decade before that she had a recurring leukoplakia – a painful white patch on her tongue caused by HPV.

But in August 2009, she developed a blueberry-sized tumour, and rushed to a dentist where she was given a biopsy.

After undergoing surgery on August 21, 2009 to remove the tumour, the cancer returned twice – in October 2017 and October 2019.

In March 2020, she opted to have tongue reconstruction surgery to prevent the tumour from re-growing – this involved removing a chunk of flesh from her left arm, and stitching it to the rest of her tongue.

Now, her “tongue” is a piece of flesh with a blue star tattoo on it as it featured on her left bicep.

Jennifer lost 60 per cent of her taste buds and had to re-learn to talk, sing and eat again.

Jennifer, an associate tax accountant, from Marietta, Atlanta, US, said: “I know I don’t look like the kind of person who has a mouth tattoo – but I like to use it to educate people about tongue cancer.

“After my fourth surgery in March 2020, I couldn’t even say my own name until 2022.

“I had to see a speech therapist to learn to eat and speak again.

“I’ve lost 60 per cent of my taste.

“Sometimes, with food like ice cream, I have to wait for my brain to send the ‘cold’ signal before I can register what it is.”

Jennifer’s leukoplakia began in her early 20s.

She had a large white patch on her tongue and felt a burning sensation if any food or drink touched it.

Despite knowing she needed to keep an eye on it, Jennifer says she “lived in denial” when the patch turned into a tumour in 2009.

She ignored it for weeks – until her aunt, Anne, then 60, insisted she take Jennifer to the dentist.

“He took one look at me and, while he didn’t want me to worry, said he thought it was cancer,” she said.

“He called the ENT specialist and got everything ready for a diagnosis there-and-then.

“He said: ‘You’re going to be fine – but I’m telling you now, this is definitely cancer.'”

Jennifer had a biopsy which confirmed she had stage one tongue cancer – caused by HPV, as confirmed by her doctors.

Due to doctors’ early intervention, the only treatment she needed was surgery to remove the tumor as much as possible – and she has never needed chemo or radiotherapy.

On August 21, 2009, doctors managed to get some of the tumour.

But the disease returned twice in 2017 and 2019.

Jennifer said: “They weren’t taking enough off – it was that one bad cell that reproduced over and over again.

“By my third surgery, I was angry, because I didn’t want to be the poster child for cancer.

“I decided to do things differently, and opted to have half of my tongue cut out and reconstructed.

“I was told I’d lose a dramatic amount of weight afterwards – due to not being able to eat.

“I wasn’t scared about that – I felt like I needed to lose a bit of weight anyway.”

Leading up to Jennifer’s surgery in March 2020, she gained 10lbs but she says she lost 70lbs afterwards – due to only being able to live on protein shakes.

She was told the surgeon would take a chunk of flesh from her left arm to reconstruct the tongue – as she’s right-handed.

Despite this, she didn’t feel insecure about it and was excited to “take her life back.”

“I had three months without eating or speaking,” she said.

“I had speech therapy to learn how to talk again.

“I had to stick my tongue out, and exercise it in my mouth.

“I worked with a nutritionist to maximise my diet – I didn’t want a tube so I lived on protein shakes.

“I had to retrain my jaw to chew again by practicing.

“Now, I can manage smaller food like carrots and olives.”

Jennifer says the best therapy for her speech was practicing singing her favourite Miranda Lambert song – ‘Settling Down’.

Her new ‘tongue tattoo’ has caused her some issues in the past – including being pulled over by an officer who thought the tattoo was a listerine tab.

“Nothing about it bothers me,” Jennifer said.

“I was way more insecure when my tongue was more f**ked up looking.”

Jennifer’s main aim is to educate people under 40 about tongue cancer – including the symptoms to look out for.

She said: “I would look out for any white patches.

“If you’re not doing something to lose weight, there’s a problem.

“If you’re not working out and eating better and you just lose 30lbs for ‘no reason’ – there’s a reason.

“Look out for a bloody mouth, jaw pain – if you have HPV, go for your yearly check-up.

“Stay on top of those appointments.”