Every dentist ignored her 3-week-old red sore until she paid $400 to force a test. They could barely look her in the eye when the results came
Rachel Passarella was called a miracle by the doctors who treated her
In September 2025, 42-year-old Rachel Passarella, a family nurse practitioner from Florida, noticed a red spot on her tongue. Since it was half the size of her pinkie fingernail, she thought it was a canker sore. She blamed it on a rough breakup a few weeks ago, thinking it was the result of the emotional turmoil she was feeling. She mentioned the sore to her dentist and ENT, but both dismissed her concerns that it was cancer because her "statistics" did not match. Six months later, she paid $400 for a biopsy test, and the doctor couldn't even look her in the eye when they confirmed her worst fears, shared Newsweek.
Just a 'canker sore'
Before getting tested, Passarella treated the sore with home remedies, but nothing worked. Three weeks later, she showed her dentist, and they responded with, "You’re healthy. You don’t smoke or drink. It’s probably a canker sore." By November, the spot had grown twice in size, the pain had gotten worse, and she had lost 15 pounds. She went to an ENT, but her concerns were dismissed again.
"You’re not a smoker, not a drinker, and not a man. Your risk is low," they assured her. She even asked for a biopsy, but was ignored. When she got her wisdom tooth removed at a different dentist in December, he asked how long she'd had the sore. He scanned her with an oral cancer screening device and revealed that the sore was "likely cancer."
Lost more than a third of her tongue
By February 2026, the sore had tripled in size. Passarella was in excruciating pain and opted to pay for a biopsy herself. Right before she began her new job in March, the test confirmed that it was "squamous cell carcinoma" or "tongue cancer." On March 13, she had her first partial glossectomy, where doctors removed an 8 mm deep tumor, and on April 21, she underwent surgery again. They removed 40 lymph nodes from the right side of her neck.
By this time, the doctors told her she had Stage 2 tongue cancer. She had lost 35-37% of her tongue and needed extensive speech therapy. Passarella knew that there was a high chance it could recur, or she could develop a different type of cancer. She almost lost her life after one of her lingual arteries ruptured, but doctors called her a miracle.
Not common, but commonly misdiagnosed
Rachel Passarella mentioned that tongue cancer is one of the most misdiagnosed cancers in the world. While it is not as common as breast cancer, lung cancer, or prostate cancer, oral cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the world, according to Medanta. It can affect the tongue, lips, gums, palate, floor of the mouth, or other parts of the oral cavity. 90% of the cases stem from alcohol abuse and the use of tobacco. The National Cancer Institute estimated a total of 20,420 new tongue cancer cases in 2026. Even though Passarella did not smoke or drink, she still had it, which is why she is actively using her experience and educating others about tongue cancer.
Passerella shared that the EMT who dismissed her concerns had apologized to her. Now, she is using her voice to spread awareness about tongue cancer. Several patients have lost their entire tongue, and some, even their lives, which is why Passarella goes to dental schools to educate future dentists about patients who do not fit the statistics or the profile, and to take lesions seriously.
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