Nicole Gibbs, tennis star, tells how a dentist discovered a rare form of cancer in his mouth

May 16, 2019, 13:05 UTC / Source: TODAY & # 39; HUI

By Eun Kyung Kim

Nicole Gibbs plans to attack her cancer with the same tenacity she brings to every tennis match.

The 26-year-old American tennis star announced earlier this week that she had withdrawn from the French Open to get surgery for salivary gland cancer.

The discovery stems from a regular appointment last month with his dentist, who asked him about growth on the roof of his mouth. Gibbs said that she was used to the hump that had existed for years.

"I was really lucky that my dentist, Dr. Kevin Lee, was able to correctly identify it as something that should not be there, and he encouraged me to undergo a biopsy and this is positive income for a form of cancer "she said today Natalie Morales.

"The first days we were still trying to understand what it was."

Salivary gland cancer accounts for less than 1% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. Gibbs said his story should serve as a warning to ask for medical and dental care regularly, and ask questions about anything unusual.

"I think it's a good reminder of self-representation.I think we tend to know if there is something wrong or wrong," he said. she said.

The 26-year-old Stanford University graduate announced her diagnosis earlier this week, before her surgery on Friday.

Gibbs thanked his fiancé, Jack Brody, for helping her keep her mind cold during the past few weeks and preventing her from connecting to the Internet.

"It was bad, I saw one thing that called 'mouth cancer – 17% survival rate'," he said. she declared. "The rule was that he was our googler, so he would process the information and bring it to me."

Gibbs has kept his sense of humor, even naming his tumor "Roofus".

"We thought it was appropriate," she said. "It certainly makes things easier if you look at things lightly, so yes, we gave him a name and he is expelled on Friday."

Gibbs said that she felt lucky that her cancer type was highly curable and that her treatment plan involved only one operation.

She spoke about her prospects earlier this week in a tweet announcing her withdrawal from Roland Garros.

"Fortunately, this form of cancer has a very good prognosis and my surgeon is convinced that surgery alone will be sufficient treatment," she wrote. "It even allowed me to participate in a few extra tournaments in recent weeks, which was a nice distraction."

Gibbs said she hoped to return to court early enough to qualify for Wimbledon in July.

Eun Kyung Kim