Florida mom of 4 Rachel Passarella was working as a nurse practitioner and, from the surface, gave the impression to be thriving.
That modified after a painful breakup in September 2025, when stress started taking a extreme toll on her physique. She felt exhausted continually, sleeping 12 to 14 hours a day, seen her hair falling out in clumps, and ultimately found a pink mark on her tongue.
Passarella, 42, initially assumed the small sore was a stress-related canker sore, presumably linked to her autoimmune situation, androgenic alopecia. However after three weeks, it had not healed — as an alternative, it had grown bigger and change into more and more painful.
Over the following six months, she visited 4 docs. Three disregarded her issues, even because the lesion deteriorated and he or she dropped practically 20 kilos as a result of chewing and consuming had change into agonizing.
Satisfied one thing was severely unsuitable, Passarella mentioned she repeatedly pushed for docs to biopsy the lesion.
As an alternative, she mentioned she was repeatedly reassured that most cancers was unlikely as a result of she lacked typical danger components: she doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, and consumes little sugar.
“I’ve heard that so many instances throughout this journey that it’s thoughts boggling,” she informed the Every day Mail.
After being given prescription steroids and medicated mouthwash with out solutions, Passarella determined she was completed ready. She went again to a former physician and insisted on a biopsy. Even whereas reducing into her tongue to take the pattern, she mentioned, the physician continued to inform her it was not most cancers.
Rachel Passarella, a mom-of-four from Florida, was lastly identified with stage 4 tongue most cancers after docs repeatedly informed her a pink spot was nothing to fret about. She is pictured along with her youngsters
Passarella, who’s a nurse, nearly misplaced her life after the second surgical procedure on her tongue
Two weeks later, Passarella acquired a cellphone name no person needs: she had squamous cell carcinoma, stage two tongue most cancers.
‘I sat there not fearful, not afraid, not scared. I sat there with this concept in my head that this isn’t your demise. That is your testimony,’ she informed the Every day Mail.
‘I don’t know why, however the first thought in my head was, how can I take this info and assist others? As a result of no person deserves to undergo what I simply went by means of to get a analysis.’
Passarella’s sickness has affected her life in methods most individuals can hardly think about. After present process partial glossectomies and neck dissections that eliminated about 39 % of her tongue and roughly 40 lymph nodes from her neck, she now struggles with on a regular basis duties reminiscent of chewing and tasting her favourite meals.
‘I needed to do speech remedy. I’m doing nicely with that. However the swallowing, there are lots of issues I can’t eat any longer as a result of it will get caught below the outlet on the fitting aspect of my tongue,’ she defined.
The mom-of-four can not eat crunchy or chewy meals like chips and bread. She additionally needs to be cautious when consuming to keep away from choking, and her sense of style has modified – meals she as soon as liked now style faint and muted.
‘Due to the nerve harm I’ve within the aspect of my face and in my neck, I can’t open my mouth vast sufficient to even take pleasure in a cheeseburger.
‘My sister was laughing at me as a result of she’s like, Rachel, you’ll by no means have the ability to eat an ice cream cone once more. And it’s true. I’ll by no means have the ability to lick an ice cream cone.
Passarella underwent a neck dissection that eliminated 70 lymph nodes from her neck to check for most cancers
The pink spot that appeared on her tongue, she assumed it was a canker sore
‘I must stick the ice cream cone on the aspect of my face as a result of my tongue goes all the best way to the fitting now. It doesn’t stick out straight any longer. So I can’t do this,’ she mentioned.
‘After tongue most cancers, you get lots of mucus in your mouth. In order you’re speaking, you must watch out that you simply’re not like spitting otherwise you’re not drooling down your chin.’
She is targeted on therapeutic relatively than relationship, however mentioned the considered intimacy and even kissing somebody makes her anxious.
‘I’d think about after I return to relationship, I received’t have the ability to kiss the identical. I don’t even know if I’m going to ever wish to kiss once more. If that is smart. It nearly offers me anxiousness to consider doing that,’ she mentioned.
Passarella underwent two partial glossectomies to take away parts of her tongue, and he or she mentioned the second surgical procedure practically price her her life.
The world the place a part of her tongue was eliminated left her lingual artery extra uncovered to irritation. The lingual artery branches from the carotid artery within the neck and provides blood to the tongue.
‘About 9 days after my second surgical procedure, I went to mattress. I mentioned my prayers with my infants and I awakened feeling like I had a mouthful of mucus, which is regular,’ she mentioned.
However when Passarella spit up the ‘mucus,’ blood clots poured out of her mouth uncontrollably. ‘I yelled for my daughter and I mentioned, get in right here. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.
Passarella is pictured after her second tongue surgical procedure. Round 39 % of her tongue has been eliminated
Passarella’s medical information and teenage daughter saved her after her artery burst
‘I mentioned, you’ve obtained to get me to the hospital. She mentioned, let’s name 911. I informed her I’m going to die earlier than they get right here,’ Passarella recalled.
Fortunately along with her information in healthcare, the nurse shoved washcloths in her mouth to carry strain on the gushing tongue, and grabbed a mason jar for the blood to spill into.
‘It took about eight minutes to get to the hospital. By that point, even with the washcloths in my mouth, I had stuffed up the complete mason jar, the quart jar with blood,’ she mentioned.
Passarella tried to remain calm, understanding that an elevated coronary heart fee can improve blood stream and doubtlessly worsen the bleeding.
‘Fortunately, my medical coaching taught me methods to survive somewhat bit greater than most.
‘They put me on a ventilator and so they flew me to a trauma hospital and my surgeon met me there. He saved my life.
‘He was capable of finding the artery and sew it again up. I used to be on life help, I believe it was like a day and a half. I misplaced 1 / 4 of my blood.’
The artery burst is an especially uncommon complication, so uncommon that Passarella mentioned the docs didn’t point out it may occur.
Passarella’s neck after the process is pictured. Her sickness has affected her in methods she by no means may have imagined. She’s not in a position to style and might’t eat sure meals like burgers
Her journey has been nothing wanting a rollercoaster, she acquired her analysis across the similar time she misplaced her nursing job and medical health insurance in Sarasota, after the observe closed down attributable to Medicare cuts.
She had been set to start out a brand new telehealth nursing job, however was compelled to show down the chance as she confronted main surgical procedures to take away a part of her tongue and could be unable to talk with sufferers throughout her restoration.
Passarella dipped into her financial savings to pay $900 out of pocket for a biopsy as a result of she knew one thing was unsuitable. All through her seek for solutions, she mentioned she felt dismissed and neglected, partly as a result of she lacked satisfactory insurance coverage protection.
Even now, throughout her restoration, she continues to battle with the state healthcare system.
‘However my insurance coverage that I’ve, as a result of I’m unemployed, I’ve to get state Medicaid insurance coverage. As a result of that job I used to be going to start out in March, I couldn’t begin it as a result of I used to be about to lose my tongue.
‘So I’ve been unemployed the entire time and the insurance coverage I’ve by means of the state of Florida is denying me a PET scan. However I’ve to pay out of pocket for that.
‘I’ll have CT scans completed each three months to verify for illness for the following 5 years,’ she defined.
Passarella additionally mentioned she has skilled neck stiffness following the surgical procedure, including that she has nerve harm extending into her shoulder.
Passarella is pictured after her artery burst. She stayed within the ICU for a day and a half and has since recovered
‘I would like bodily remedy. However, once more, the insurance coverage, the Medicaid insurance coverage is denying it and has been denying it for the final month and a half. I really feel like my proper arm is turning into disabled. I’m in ache daily,’ she mentioned.
Fortunately, a bodily therapist found her TikTok web page, the place Passarella shares movies about her most cancers journey and has constructed a following of over 40,000 individuals.
‘They’re donating their companies to me freed from cost. I’m so excited to have the ability to begin bodily remedy. However, once more, it’s ridiculous that in the USA of America a most cancers affected person has to struggle to get care.
‘Not solely a most cancers affected person, however someone who has been a healthcare employee for 21 years. We now have to struggle to get any little bit of our well being care paid for,’ she mentioned.
Passarella by no means anticipated her social media to take off, and says she is deeply grateful for the help and encouragement she has acquired alongside the best way and is now doing her finest to assist others.
‘I get about 30 messages a day of individuals, largely ladies, who say, I obtained this spot on my tongue and the physician simply retains pushing me off. What ought to I do?’ she mentioned.
The mom-of-four has additionally arrange a GoFundMe to assist help her medical bills and it has raised greater than $16,000 in donations to date.
Tongue most cancers makes up about one % of latest most cancers circumstances within the US, in keeping with the Nationwide Most cancers Institute.
Passarella is pictured after finishing her surgical procedures as she celebrated heading residence from hospital
It is without doubt one of the extra widespread sorts of head and neck most cancers. In 2023, an estimated 18,040 individuals within the US have been identified with the illness, and about 2,940 died from it.
Most tongue cancers begin within the flat squamous cells that line the floor of the tongue. When these cells develop and divide abnormally, they’ll kind a tumor.
Like different mouth and throat cancers, tongue most cancers is usually linked to heavy tobacco and alcohol use, in addition to the sexually transmitted illness HPV.
Different key danger components for mouth and throat cancers embody being over age 45, being male, and having a weakened immune system. A eating regimen low in fruit and veggies may additionally improve danger.
However Passarella warned that it may occur to anybody as she didn’t have any of the standard danger components.
‘[I had] no smoking, no consuming, no human papillomavirus (HPV), that’s one factor that’s so vital for individuals to know, that I didn’t have HPV, that not all tongue cancers are attributable to HPV,’ she mentioned.
