Mass in the mouth: Chemotherapy and radiotherapy failed

Sometime in March 2005 he noticed a small lump on the underside of his left tongue. The lump grew bigger with time. He then started taking some Chinese herbs. After six to seven months, the lump appeared to have gone smaller in size but did not go away.

Not satisfied, he went to a private hospital. An MRI indicated a 2 x 2 x 3 cm mass in the left paracentral aspect of the floor of the mouth. A biopsy was done and the doctor told him that it was moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma.

According to the doctor, KT needs to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy first before surgery was to be attempted. Trusting his doctor, KT underwent seven cycles (7X) of chemotherapy and thirty sessions (30X) of radiotherapy.

Unfortunately the treatments were not effective. So KT was asked go for another four cycles of chemotherapy. Again, the treatment was not effective. However this time, his jaw swelled and turned red. Then the swelling ruptured. The doctor gave up and told KT: Go and try Chinese herbs.

TK came to seek our help. His condition is best illustrated by the accompanied photo. There are three lumps below the jaw. Notice also the “burnt marks” due to the radiation treatment. TK could not eat any solid food.