Denise McBride

Denise’s mind was more on the upcoming Christmas holidays than anything as serious as cancer when she went to see her dentist about an ongoing mouth sore.

She had had the sore since the previous summer when it had been diagnosed as luekaplakia which can be a precursor to cancer. “Like so many people, I thought cancer could not happen to me,” says Denise McBride, a 43 year old wife and mother.

But when the sore hadn’t improved by December, her maxillofacial surgeon sent her to Dr. Dobleman who conducted a series of test over the course of three days to determine she had stage four tongue cancer. By day four Denise had started chemotherapy.

“I went into my appointment thinking I would learn about what was wrong and how they would start putting together a treatment plan,” says Denise. “I had no thought we would start treatment immediately,” she adds.

Treatment began with chemotherapy with the goal to shrink the tumor and have a less invasive surgery. They removed the tumor on the left underside of her tongue and lymph nodes in her neck to help prevent the cancer from spreading. Dr. Dobleman also used a skin graft from her thigh to fill the hole left by the tumor removal. By filling the hole, her speech was not affected by the procedure.

“I felt I was in the best possible place by going to Dr. Dobleman and his team. Anyone who knows Dr. Dobleman tells you he is the best there is,” says Denise. “By starting with the chemotherapy, he gave me the best shot for a less invasive surgery,” she adds.

“Everything happened so fast and December was a hectic time, but Dr. Dobleman always listened and was responsive to my needs and let me vent when I needed to,” notes Denise.

Today, Denise is back at work for a local company that specializes in inbound telemarketing and recently celebrated 19 years of marriage.

Other Patient Testimonials:
Harley Batie
Jill Olsen
Eugene Holman