How can you know if you've got tongue cancer?

Mass or ulcer: A woody thickening in the tongue, a bump, a crater especially a painless one, or a part of the tongue surface simply turning especially red or especially white for a time. Especially if this is where you keep the end of your smoking apparatus or your chewing tobacco, get it checked -- physicians often do not examine all of the tongue routinely.

See your doctor, now: Start by seeing your primary care physician, who might refer you to an otolaryngologist or ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist. They have special instruments to detect tumors at the base of the tongue that cannot be seen otherwise. Don't delay in getting checked. The symptoms of tongue or throat cancer can be very mild, even though they're serious.