Support Leeann's Fight: Oral Cancer Battle

My name is Leeann. I am a wife of 27 years and mother of 4. I was diagnosed in November 2024 with Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, oral cancer. By December, I had to have surgery to remove my tongue and some lymph nodes on both sides of my neck. A new tongue was made for me using the muscle from my arm. It has been a hard journey.

I am struggling to learn to eat again; speaking is difficult at times due to the changes of my tongue not working as before. I have trouble with my jaw and neck hurting and feeling like air is trapped in them. My ear and throat hurt every day. I have moments of depression over how my life has changed. I have lost 71 lbs; it is extremely hard for me to eat and drink even with my feeding tube. I feel sick or full when I try to eat, or I have no desire to eat.

I have bills and expenses coming. At times it gets very overwhelming. My family is very supportive and does their best to help me through this. I know this is taking a huge toll on them. My husband is juggling taking care of me, running our home, and going to work. My children are doing their best to help him and me. My sister has given up so much of her time as well to make sure I'm okay. My husband and my sister have missed a lot of work to take me to my doctor appointments. They have all sacrificed so much to help me. No one ever really talks about how hard cancer is on your family or the struggle with depression from the changes that occur.

We are trusting God for healing and to carry us through.