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Head and Neck Cancer

Archives for January 2011

Home from Chatt.
Hi all: Basketcase checking in here! I have been to Chatt. TN to help my niece and her two girls get ready to move in with my sister for financial reasons just to start. What a zoo. Please pray for this family. They have to be out by Friday and they are no where near ready to go. My niece is divorced. I honestly believe if…
Newly dianogsted with NPC stage3
Hi all, My husband 47 years old Vietnamese was dianogsted with NPC undifferenciated stage 3 on Monday this week. We are still in shock and shaking as I am typing this. We would like to learn all about this rare cancer and seeking support to fight this battle. We have 3 small children and so there is no other option but…
Nutritional supplements when weaning off PEG
I am the wife and caregiver of Buzz who completed treatment on January 10 for Stage IV BOT cancer. I am trying to get him off the PEG and would like advice on what supplements are the the best ones as well as the best place to buy or order them. Walgreens and CVS seem to be pretty competitive on price for Boost Plus and…
Update on Bob...
Just wanted to let everyone know Bob will be returning to work tomorrow..;) After 16 month's he is going to start working Part time..it is wonderful that he has come full circle. The Dr's all say it was his positive attitude...but we know that it was them and HIS positive attitude..I am so glad you guy's were all there for…
What do you Enjoy doing
I was just wondering, what is it that each of us enjoys the most. For me it is two things. First: when I get to go home to Utila, normally now it is only on vacation. but when I do I love walking in my brothers botanical garden and being able to eat the fruit right off the tree, makes me home sick just thinking about it.…
worry..need some advise
hi everyone my dad had his yearly scan report last thursday but this time thing doesn't look good it mark his 5th year of remission this year but last week report came in not clean. was told that there is a mass in his lung about 5.6 x 5.9cm at his upper lung lobe and lower lung lobe. well the doc could not cfm whether is…
Chef Daddy Mike back in the Hospital Up-Date 1-31-2011
I just got off the phone with Mike; he is back in the hospital again. He was having some very bad pain and his blood pressure went to the roof. They did a C/T of his abdomen and found something you will not believe. He had a surgery some 9 years ago and it looks like they left some of the old bandages in side of him. He…
Devasted Care Giver, Could this really be it?
I apologize in advance for this long introduction. I am new to post, but definitely not new to this forum. I have been reading people's stories for the past 2 mos and have learned so much! I can't explain everything in doctor terms, but can do my best from what i have gathered. I am caregiver to brother in law Gary, age…
Apparently I have a bigger problem =/
I have been to 2 different docs now and confirmed that I have tongue and throat cancer...Gets better and better! This time the surgery is going to remove my whole tongue, and I must have chemo...Im going to take my chances and have the chemo first to see what kinda butt kicking that can lay down on this stuff before I have…
Progressing, Getting Ready for Treatment, So Many Questions
Things are progressing for me. Had surgery to remove tumor in lymph gland and also tonsils which ended up being negative. Finally had the PET Scan and it came back clear. Although I am grateful for that I am left wondering...No primary tumor??? How can that be? Is it possible that it is too small to be visable yet the…
swallow exercise therapy
Can anyone tell me if they had gone through swallow exercise therapy and achieved any success with being able to swallow solid foods again. I have been doing several different exercises for a about 7 weeks now and don't feel like i am making any headway toward being able to eat again. As some of you may already know i am…
Hints for recovering from dissection
Well, we're at that point - PET/CT next week and (unless hot spots show up on that) the ENT is going to do a selective neck dissection the following week to remove the remains of the branchial cleft cyst that was the secondary tumor, along with surrounding lymph nodes, for biopsy. They have no reason to think they will…
Meal Replacement Drinks/ Bodybuilding supplements
I have a plan for nutrition. I have been doing protein shakes for years (56 years old) from my weight-lifting. I will start my treatment 33 rad and 3 separate chemo on 2/2. I will use water, Whey protein (Pro Complex) mixed with a MRP called The Ultimate Meal (a powder that gives you all nutrients you can use. ) Actuall,…
What would you do?
Talked to the oncologist for the first time. I pressed the doc on killing the cancer and keeping it away. He said killing it was pretty sure. Said i'm a dream parient because I'm in shape, no other illness, good nutrition, ... But he said this bugger is "level 3", in his words "potent". So I asked him if low dose chemo and…
A little help on diagnosis please
I am obviously head and neck with tumor at base of tongue and two lymph nodes involved. Here is their little cryptic code: T2N2cM0 So I read that as T2: tumor is a stage (or is it size) 2 out of 4. N2c: both side lymph nodes involved, but what is the c M0: no metastasis Do I have it right? They say I am stage IVa - how…
Truth serumn in Chemo?
Do you find yourself more to the point about stuff. "Lets cut to the chase attitude". Compelled to just blurt out truths? My Italian wife has for decades been making this spagetti sauce that was, "OK" but I always thought, "jar" tasted better. Recently one day while making a grocery list I just blurted out that I thought…
Back From Doctors
Well, one year has passed, i weighed in at 160 lbs today, years 20 lbs of weight gain, I am so tired right now, Dr. said this was from not enought sleep at the begininng, like I should have done, I worked threw rads and chemo, My voice is very small and raspy, but he told me a slight more improvement, maybe, I could have a…
anyone heard of the VMAT radiation
I am a 56 year old male. I have been diagnosed with HPV-16 cancer. I had a lump removed from my neck (attached to lymph-node) and now I am seeing the doctor for the treatment prescription (radiation and chemo.) I will be getting my treatment at the VCU Massey center in Richmond, VA. Does anyone have any experience with the…
newly HPV-16 cancer patient needing advice
I am a 56 year old male. I have been diagnosed with HPV-16 cancer. I had a lump removed from my neck (attached to lymph-node) and now I am seeing the doctor for the treatment prescription (radiation and chemo.) I will be getting my treatment at the VCU Massey center in Richmond, VA. Does anyone have any experience with the…
Side affects of Radiation / List up-date
Does anyone have the Full list of Radiation Side effects, it seams like every time I go to a doctor about a problem I am told it is Radiation side effects. At what point do they stop blaming it on the treatment and start being doctors again and looking. Just asking to see if anyone else is having this same problem.
Plain and Simple : I need you folk.
Hello to my old friends and new warriors on this site. As you might have read from previous posts, my wife who is Fancini Aneamic and after 4 surgeries the last year and another 3 in previous years , has finally had to succumb to the "no choice" of radiation, which is considered life threatening. This is because Fanconi…
LET THE FIREWORKS BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would like to ask who is doing the flouride trays? How often, and for how long do you leave them in. I have been doing them since radiation was over, about 10 weeks, every day , leaving them in about 30 min. My concern is the cancer that fluroide can cause. This is an old topic of conversation, but I recently read an…
Alternative Treatments
Looking for some candid feedback. I am 61. Healthy and strong. Except, I have stage 4 squamous cell cancer with a tumor at the base of my tongue. Docs are gearing up for chemo and 6 weeks of radiation. Is this the way to go? It seems wrong to me. Kill my good cells to kill the cancer and hope I survive it. As others who…
A smile and a hello from a not so newcomer =)
Hello everyone My name is Kelly i'm 31 years old and I have just discovered I am again facing the old friend named cancer...I say that because honestly It did make me a stronger person for the 5 years that I was cancer free...So I consider this a couple of bumps in my lifes road and will take them slowly and dodge what I…
lymph nodes 7 mos later
I had the right inside of my right cheek removed in May and replaced with a skin graft from my thigh. Also, had 30 lymph nodes removed...all negative. 25 rads finished in August. A PET scan in November was negative. This morning, my lymph nodes on the surgery side of my neck are very tender and swollen. Has anyone had this…
Shingles
Some folks have mentioned bouts of shingles during recovery - I'm starting to suspect we have a case also - sore throat, crusty rash on his chin and scalp and a stiff neck and sore lymph nodes. All on the left side (the side that didn't have cancer). Caused a fair amount of freaking out on my part and a sign of worry or…
Wife wants to bail!
I've been diagnosed with squamous cell carsinoma of my throat, tongue and lymph node area on my left side. Treatment is to begin shortly but my wife does not want to stay with me for it. She says I have been selfish to her our whole relationship ( 40 years), including infidelity, which to some degree is true; so, now she…
Finished Radiation Treatment for Tongue Cancer
I just wanted to write to say I finished my radiation treatment on Wednesday. I am feeling the effects a lot more now, but I am trying to stay positive. I posted here last month about my fears about radiation and how I was contemplating on stopping treatment. I want to thank all of you again for your advice, kind words and…
I need advice for simulation & for radiation
1.My wife is going on monday 24 for simulation, as its called here, for Radiation. That includes measuremnts etc for her mask i assume. Is there anything we should do/ask/tell/request? 2. She will have Radiation for Hypopharynx cancer.SHe will have neck and throat Rad down to the aaesophagus. I would really like to have a…
If Chemo leaves no cancer detected, why do radiation?
My wife Connie just finished 2 rounds of induction chemotherapy. She was suppose to do 3 rounds but due to many side effects after the 2nd round and a month long stay in the hospital, her chemo oncologist told her she would not be doing anymore chemo. When she was in the hospital her chemo doctor ordered a CT Scan and the…

Head and Neck Cancer

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