Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Fischer had just graduated from college when the road to her future took a sudden, distressing turn: She was diagnosed with advanced tongue cancer. Alyssa put her care in the hands of doctors, which removed the tumor, reconstructed her tongue, and then treated her with radiation and chemotherapy.
Alyssa’s case is not an isolated one. Head and neck cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the world and is responsible for 900,000 cases and 400,000 deaths per year. In India, head and neck cancer is more prevalent among men than women, with incidences exceeding 20 per 100,000 cases, and mouth and tongue cancer being the most common.
