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Head and Neck Cancer

Archives for December 2010

Need clarification, please. 'in remission' vs. NED
Ok. I have a couple questions that I would like to have answers for, if you've got them. Glenna's post on Mick's thread was making me finally ask. Can some one give me the idiots guide breakdown of NED vs. 'in remission'? I never had a follow up PET or anything. No one has ever really said, go forth! Your cured! Lol. I…
update and an annoyance
Hi folks. 3 days out of the second esophageal dilation and things are good. I am swallowing a little better than before and will know more in a few days once the sores from the procedure heal and I can take this throat out for a real test drive. I'll keep you posted. However, it looks like I'll be keeping that date with Dr…
Pain in the Head HONDO Up-date 12-16-10
As survivors we need to be on watch about possible infections that can happen at anytime and to any one of us. As most of you know I have been having very bad pain in my head for the passed many months, I have seen 2 different Oncal doc’s and 3 ENT’s about the pain and none of them could find anything wrong. Well never…
Apologies
Hi everyone, I am sorry for not responding to so many of your posts. I am just not able to sit down at my computer any more. Please know this, I think the world of all of you who helped me through all this and am glad to call you my FRIENDS. Went for a CT last Tuesday and go to see the ENT next Tuesday. The tech said that…
Heavy Hearted
I'm very sad! received some very bad news regarding my aunt who is losing her battle with lung and bone cancer. Our family has been hit very hard the last 10 years with a total of 3 deaths from cancer. My dad age 56, aunt lorretta 45, aunt marguerite 54, aunt tiny who is fighting for her life right now and my aunt mary who…
questions about getting sick during winter?
Hi Guys I just want to know if you get a cold or sick during winter is it going to be harder to fight off the cold or the sickness after you finishing treatments about 5 months ago. Any good advice to fight this cold because I am scared that its going to lead back in to same symptoms that lead to my cancer. Any advice…
Cold Hands & Feet
My hands and feet stay pretty much continually cold. Of course this is much worse in the winter time than summer. This makes for a very uncomfortable time most of the time. My treatment is now almost four years out (Chemo & Radiation) for Pharyngeal cancer. I do have however a burned up thyroid from the radiation. I have…
To Pam
Hi Pam, I am sorry your PET results did not come back as good as you had hoped. I was wondering why you hadn't posted the results, because I know you had your CT about the same time Pat had his PET. I was very worried and checked often for your results. I wanted to ask you, but figured that if you wanted to tell us, you…
trach
I am new at this and this is my first post. I had stage iv cancer of the throat and had a trach put in before treatments started. I am now 5 months post treaments and having problems speaking eating and drinking. Up until a week ago I was unable to swallow causing me to aspirate. The doctor was able to dilate my esophagus…
Water Blisters
I have a quick question. My dad recently got a amall water blister on his gum. He had these off and on through treatment. Have any of you had this problem post treatment. The Oncologist told him they are nothing to be concerned about. He has started eating a fair amount of citrus fruit in the last week could this be…
My mouth is so dry
How dry is it? It's so dry that...... I sneezed earlier and sand sprayed everywhere. I was looking at the sores in my mouth and saw an oasis but it turned out to be a mirage. I went to brush my teeth and a dead camel fell out. I got a piece of water stuck between my teeth. I've been using it at night to make beef jerky and…
spam filter problems
All, As you know, we've had increased problems with spamming on the boards lately. In an attempt to minimize spam, a spam filter was installed this morning. The filter has been marking some posts as spam which are not spam and blocking the authors (i.e. members) from posting on the boards. Please excuse this inconvenience…
Pain in jaw and tooth
I've just started radiation with only 8 treatments under my belt. My surgery was in the floor of my mouth on the left side. I am experiencing pain in my jaw and my tooth closest to the surgical site. Has anyone experienced similar pain in their jaws or teeth during radiation? Thanks, Shelly
I think I peed my pants..........
On no, it was just another CT scan. Also did the eeeeeeeeee and had few other acts of torture performed on me. But at 8 months all is still clear. I did have something come up a few weeks ago though that I hadn't heard of before. There was a very rough spot along the inside of my gumline that was irritating my tongue, in…
Now Aretha Franklin Now!...
I just read Aretha Franklin has been diagnoised with Panreatic...What else that has been great can be taken away from us, I have never saw so much talent over this year taken from us..This Cancer has to be Beaten, really angers me for the my family and others that have lost someone special they loved...Sorry, But so sad.…
New Guy Introduction
Hello everyone. This is a 'club' that I did not wish to join. This forum however, has been a great source of information so far and I thank all of you who have shared your experiences and information. It is good to know that I am not unique and that others have posted stories remarkably similar to mine. In late October, my…
"Sing a song with a friend, change the shape that I'm in, and get back in the game"
(Blaze Foley reference) Not sure this is the place to post this, since it is largely lung cancer-related, but it does have to do with the head/neck stuff as well, ultimately. Today I visited Chemo Palace, where OncoMan resides along with his bevy of needle stabbers and chemo pushers. I was, for whatever reason, not…
advice needed - we were given chemo options
Hi everyone, Dad met with the oncologist today to discuss chemo. To our surprise, they gave him 3 options. 1)standard radiation and 3 cisplatin tretments (std care) 2) radiation and cisplatin weekly which i guess is a lower dose and 3) induction chemo of taxotere-5FU-cisplatin. She said the induction is very hard on…
Easy to Swallow CookBook from a head and neck cancer patient
Although I haven't seen the book personally, I saw this article and thought it may be helpful to those who are experiencing eating difficulties. Every little bit helps when your dealing with the dreadful side effects of treatment. http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/3418--Oral-health-Celebrity-cookbook-legacy-wins-award#
Meet NED today
Davids pet came back NED and I couldn't be happier. Oh what a relief, God is so good... This news will make for a very happy holiday season for us and the family. Praise GOD!!
Synthoid ~ Update
LOL, you put the jinx on my good fortune.....just kidding, I knew it was coming soon. Went to have the port flushed and also visit the ENT for my routine scope, poke and probe. Everything is looking good there, nothing out of the norm, all systems go, EEEEEEEE. But as you all know, my ENT is my lead MD. He has been…
NOT so clean PET/CT Scan. Anyone out there with a similar experience
I just got the results of my 3 month PET-CT Scan following SCC @ BOT with one lymph node on the same side involved and it showed residual activity in the lymph node which measures 0.4 (it was previously 1.2 cm). The tumor at the base of the tongue is gone. Radiation oncologist is not concerned (I am!) and believes that…
Great News but still confused
Received great news today no chemo or rads! But still no answer why the cancer returned. I think I'm looking for an answer that I'm never going to get! The biopsy came back squamous cell carcinoma in situ. They have me under a every six week watch. I feel very lucky but afraid they are missing something! I have not had any…
Daily Aspirin Linked to Steep Drop in Cancer Risk
Interesting read http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20101207/hl_hsn/dailyaspirinlinkedtosteepdropincancerrisk
bad taste
I had a biopsy done a few weeks ago and ever since I have had a bad taste in my mouth and food just has no real taste to it. Is this permanent or just something that will pass.
NED after chemo yet still 7 weeks of radiation?
My husband, 28 years old, was diagnosed with stage 4c nasopharyngeal cancer this Sept with distant bone mets. He has just finished his 4 rounds of TPF chemo. The PET scan now is clear, and the doctor says there is no visible cancer, yet she still want to put him on 7 weeks of IMRT. Any of you guys had similar experience?…
Post-treatment Feeding
I was going to post this on the caregivers list, but it is really H&N specific. Doug is now 3 days post-treatment - he skipped the g-tube, as he could eat reasonably well until the 2nd chemo, which kicked the crap out of him. He lost 35 of his 175 pounds and so now we are trying to build it back. He can drink thin…
Tooth extractions
looking for any tidbits on tooth extractions after treatment. This time last year I was just finishing up the neck disection. I had 39 rads and chemo also. I just got my third tooth abcess since finishing treatment. This last one is because of a failed root canal in which the root has broken off the molar. Wish I hadn't…
One more "You can call me Ned"!
Sweet! This morning I got the word and joined the club, the NED club! Call me survivor. Call me bad-****. I kicked this cancer thing's butt big time! Just over 9 weeks post-treatment and I am pain-free and eating totally normally again. My voice is 50%, but I never could sing to begin with, so that's no big deal. Slight…
Saliva production
This past summer I happened to visit my uncle, who had gone through Tonsil Cancer about 15 years ago. He was a tremendous resource and supporter during my treatment phase, and I asked him how he deals with dry mouth. He went to his medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of very small pills called "Pilocar". He takes one a…

Head and Neck Cancer

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