Woman shares bizarre symptom she ignored before being diagnosed with stage four cancer at 35

A woman who was told she had a '50/50' chance of speaking again as a result of her tongue cancer has shared the symptoms she experienced beforehand.

Tongue cancer is seen as relatively rare type of cancer in the US and only makes up around one percent of new cancer cases and 0.5 per cent of all cancer deaths, as per the National Cancer Institute.

Things that may make you more at risk of developing this type of cancer are tobacco use, drinking alcohol, and being exposed to the HPV virus.

According to Mayo Clinic, other factors can include your gender — with males being more likely to get tongue cancer — your age, lack of dental care, and having a weak immune system.

Symptoms can vary from person to person, and Beth Riehle, who was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2024, has shared one of the particular unusual symptoms she'd experienced before her diagnosis.

Beth Riehle was diagnosed with cancer last year (isthisriehlelife/Instagram)

In late 2023, Beth said she had a migraine that 'just wouldn't go away', with the pain then traveling to her ear and jaw as well.

"I always felt like I wasn’t feeling good, but wasn’t necessarily sick," she continued to tell TODAY.com. "I had general tiredness," she added of her symptoms.

Having a feeling it was something to do with her mouth, Beth went and visited her dentist, who noticed her tongue was discolored.

She recalled: "She noticed some discoloration on my tongue but never discussed what it might be. My primary care physician also examined me when I came in for my original complaints but also never alluded to any major problems."

It wasn't until Beth saw an otolaryngologist, often referred to as an ENT doctor, that a biopsy was done, the results of which found that Beth had Stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma in her tongue.

Upon getting the news, Beth chose to have radiation and chemotherapy. However, in the months after finishing her treatment, she started experience new symptoms.

Beth had initially underwent chemo and radiation therapy (isthisriehlelife/Instagram)

"I started having terrible shooting pains across my forehead and neck," she said. "I assumed they were delayed reactions to the radiation."

Then in September 2024, Beth got the sad news that her cancer was 'treatment resistant' and they'd found a second tumour. She went on to have part of her tongue removed, with doctors telling her at the time that she only had a '50/50 chance' of being able to speak again.

But Beth can speak to some extent, and uses her social media platform to do 'fit checks' where she details what she's wearing to her followers.

Sharing why she does this, Beth said: "I wanted to use TikTok to track my progress as far as my speech. Ialso thought that by putting my experience out there, I might be able to help someone else my age or someone going through my experience in the way I wished for when I was first diagnosed."

You can follow Beth on TikTok here.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.