Tumors in the head/neck

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316connie
316connie Member Posts: 2
edited September 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Looking for help from anyone post op  who has had neck surgery to remove a carotid body tumor.

What if any complications have developed and what courses of treatment have been used  for pain control/relief .

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  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103
    #2
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    Welcome

    Welcome to a great, supportive group.  I did have a neck dissection but not cartoid issue.  How long ago did you have surgery?  Do not be afraid to get pain meds.  You might ask doctor about physical therapy.  Are you going to have chemo or radiation?  You might want to post the topic in the search box to find archived posts.

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #3
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    KTeacher said:

    Welcome

    Welcome to a great, supportive group.  I did have a neck dissection but not cartoid issue.  How long ago did you have surgery?  Do not be afraid to get pain meds.  You might ask doctor about physical therapy.  Are you going to have chemo or radiation?  You might want to post the topic in the search box to find archived posts.

    Welcome

    My original cancer was lower jaw 2012. Recurrance around left carotid 2013 inoperable treated successfully in 5 days at Mayo with SBRT. Recurrance around right carotid 2014 treated same. Last scans were good. Go for follow-up this week.

    I haven't really heard of a carotid body tumor. Was it malignant?  Where did you have the surgery done? What issues are you having? Any chemo/rads? 

    In another post, you mentioned the parotid gland. I had a benign Warthins tumor on my right parotid gland removed years ago. I was fotunate not to have any pain. Did develope a fistula behind the ear. Prior to Botox, ENT tried air sick patches...the 2nd one worked. I was fortunate not to have any pain or lasting effects. Please clarify if you had carotid tumor or parotid tumor. 

  • wmc
    wmc Member Posts: 1,804
    #4
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    Welcome to the H&N

    Welcome to the group. Mine was SSC supraglottic with removal of Larynx and Radial neck dissection of both sides which strips the Internal jugular vein and 86 lymph glands. Surgery only, did fine.

     

    Here is the link for a search: There is a few old posts here.

    http://csn.cancer.org/forum/164/search?body=carotid+body+tumor&title=

     

     

     

     

     

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #5
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    welcome aboard

    316connie,

    I had jugular vein dissection and base of tongue surgery, but fortunately only minor pain.  I had a whole bunch of pain meds at the ready so; take them if you need them.  If you can control your pain then do it.

    Matt

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #6
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    Hi Connie

    Something’s you need to put in to the hands of Jesus, the cancer I had in the neck was right close to the Carotid Artery. My doctor did not do surgery but elected to try radiation only, with a lot of prayers the treatment killed the cancer. But the side effects of the radiation damaged the Carotid Artery to where my blood pressure is always up or down, very hard to control it with any type of medication; but I am still alive. Just put this in Gods hand and meditate on his goodness and grace.

    Welcome to the family here in CSN H&N

    Tim Hondo

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #7
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    Hi Connie

    There are no regular posters here who have had this type of tumor.  The vast majority are here because of problems with throat cancer.  Your tumor, also called a parasympathetic paraganglioma, is pretty rare, often times not malignant, and is typically treated by simple resection.  This type of surgery is not terribly painful, but there are many nuances involved in its preparation and performance, as well as ancillary treatments which depend on the tumor histology and anatomy as well.  A post like yours sometimes attracts new posters who are cruising the internet and run into your situation through searching this site.  Those people often times respond to a thread like this in a few days or so, so I would stick around for awhile if I could.

     

    best to you

     

    Pat

  • bellabella917
    bellabella917 Member Posts: 4
    #8
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    Hello Connie,

    Hello Connie,

     

    Just found your thread and wanted to reply and ask how your surgery went and how you are doing a couple of years afterwards. I was also just diagnosed with a right carotid paraganglioma, and I'm having it removed on a couple of days so would love to hear about your experience and how you recovered. Looking forward to hearing from you! Best,

     

    Isabella

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