I’ve had four of my back teeth removed, the floor of my mouth rebuilt and more than half of my tongue replaced with an arm muscle. But other than a slight lisp and some scars on my neck and forearm, there are no obvious signs that I once had stage IV squamous cell carcinoma, a type of oral cancer.

Recovery from my oral cancer treatment was not fun. It was hard and scary and painful. But it was also worth it.

That’s why I...