Many people with older parents would do just about anything to spend more time with their mom. Susan Woods is no exception.
Susan, 62, lives in Webster and took care of her mother Faye as she aged into her 70s.
But even caretakers like Susan need someone to care for them when the time comes.
Discovering the need for more care
In 2021, Susan went to her dentist for a routine appointment. She mentioned to her dentist that she was feeling some irritation where her lower palate was rubbing on the bottom of her tongue.
When he took a closer look, he told Susan he was concerned about it and that she should talk with her primary care provider.
A short time later, Susan met with her primary care provider I Am P Resurreccion, MD, who confirmed the dentist’s suspicion and referred her to Andrew Coniglio, MD, a head and neck cancer surgeon at Rochester General Hospital.
“I felt really comfortable with him, but I knew something was really serious,” Susan said.
Following an exam and biopsy, Dr. Andrew Coniglio and fellow head and neck cancer surgeon John Coniglio, MD, confirmed Susan had squamous cell carcinoma under her tongue. They scheduled her surgery for January 2022 – less than a month after her diagnosis.
“They were serious about getting me in immediately,” Susan said. “From the time I was biopsied until the surgery, it happened very quickly. They were on it.”
Getting Susan back to daily life
During Susan’s surgery, surgeons removed the portion of her tongue involved by cancer, then reconstructed it using tissue transferred from skin on her arm. This allowed for the removal of the cancer while maintaining speech, swallow, breathing, and physical appearance.
Following her surgery, Susan recovered at Rochester General Hospital for eight days before being discharged. Once she was home, she met with a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and a wound care specialist who all made sure she was able to continue with her daily activities.
Susan’s main reason for wanting to return home was to be with her mother, who had injured her foot and needed someone to be there for her when she was released from her rehabilitation facility.
Over the course of the next year, Susan would recover from her surgery and spend time at her mother’s home as her full-time caregiver.
Susan met with her cancer care team to ensure her incisions were healing properly and had regular scans done to ensure her cancer was gone. She continued to meet with them 3-4 times a year.
One year after Susan’s initial surgery, Susan’s mother Faye passed away at age 80.
Having an established cancer care team
Three years after Susan’s initial surgery with Dr. Coniglio, she met with her cancer care team again for a check-up. A scan showed the cancer had returned but had not spread to her lymph nodes. The recurrence was small and manageable, which highlights how important it is to do regular surveillance.
Susan had a second surgery in March 2025 to remove the cancer. Since then, her scans have shown she is cancer-free.
Over the course of her surgeries, Susan also met with Jolly Caplash, DMD, FACS – an oral surgeon at Rochester General Hospital who has helped to reconstruct her tongue and lower jaw after her second cancer-removal surgery.
Once Dr. Caplash’s work is complete, Susan’s tongue will be fully intact, and she will have teeth replaced with implant surgery so she can regain her chewing function & ability to smile. Susan describes his work as “amazing.”
Confidence in Susan’s cancer care team
Susan is scheduled to see her cancer care team again in June but said she is confident she could reach out to them with any questions she has in the meantime.
“If I have anything, they have me come in,” Susan said. “They answer all of my questions.”
When asked why she would recommend her cancer care team to others, Susan paused for a moment, then gave a simple answer.
“Because they saved my life.”
“If they weren’t who they were,” she added, “I might not be here.”
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