Matt Stangl

We have decided to use this CaringBridge website for Matt to establish a clear communication channel for everyone who is thinking of Matt and our family during this tough time. We hope that this will also allow Matt to relax without having to retell his story and and answer many questions, especially when we may not yet have the answers to those questions. 



Everything began a couple months ago as Matt began having difficulty swallowing and some pain in his jaw.  Matt saw his local doctor in Marshalltown, IA to have a sore on his tongue examined. From there, he was then referred to an ENT doctor in Ames, IA. After  two weeks of using a topical medication, no improvement was shown so the doctor performed a biopsy on the area. The biopsy has revealed that Matt has tongue cancer, despite not having any of the traditional associated risk factors. Matt has since had various imaging  such as a CT/PET scans, ultrasounds, and additional biopsies. Thankfully, these recent tests do not appear to indicate that the cancer has spread much beyond the surrounding area of the original sore. 
 Matt underwent  surgery on his tongue to have the cancer removed which we are very optimistic about. We are anxiously awaiting the results of the surgery and to hear the next steps. We will update as we know more!

We greatly appreciate everyone's support, concerns, thoughts, and prayers. We encourage you to use this site to send any thoughts or well wishes for Matt to help him keep a positive outlook as he takes on this journey.  We will update this page as we get more information. 


Thank you,
The Stangls