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Head and Neck Cancer

Archives for March 2013

levothyroxine and psa levels
hi everyone i am a two year survivor of scc.just had a routine physical that included screening for prostate cancer. the psa nunbers came back very high 24 and 10 days later 41. i have been on levothyroxine therapy which has recently been increased. this leads to my question has anyone experienced elevated psa levels due…
Ensure/Boost for veteran survivors
Here is some good information for veterans who supplement their diet with Ensure or Boost. These items are available at the VA pharmacy. In our area, the items are expensive at the drug store. I now have it as a prescription item and can receive two cases (48) every 24 days with a minimum co-payment. For your information,…
It's my Birthday and my results were less than I had hoped for
Well, I had my swallow survey and I am aspirating. Very disappointing as I was just to the point where I could down an entire insure and was working on trying new foods daily. Now I'm on a big STOP until I meet with my therapist. Add to this my Onc told me today that he wants to do a CT scan next week. I asked why he was…
End of Radiation
Well folks, Monday was my last radiation treatment, lets hope it did its job. Now for the remaining Erbitux and beginning Cisplantin whatever that will be like. The doc said the lump hasn't shrunk as much as he liked but feels chemo will knock it out. I probably won't be able to speak well but I am hoping to be able to…
osteoradionecrosis of the maxilla
I was wondering how often is that seen as a complication among those who had 70Gy and concurrent chemo? I know that maxilla has a better supply of Oxygen (via collateral vessel supply) than the mandible. I realize that it depends on the (primary) tumor location, but I am still willing to know if extraction, deep cleaning…
Oscar Sierra
Or in less polite circles "oh (expletive deleted) I had my second post rads PET/CT yesterday and the results were not what I'd anticipated. There is still a hot spot. The really odd part is that the same spot was seen on my first post rads PET last October. At first they were going to take a 'wait and see' approach,…
Anyone have any suggestions for seeing eye doctor?
Tomorrow we are going to have our eyes checked. It's my yearly visit as I wear the glasses. And after having radiation so close to the eyes, I decided it wouldn't hurt to get Dan's checked. He's worn the cheaters from the drug store for reading before, but getting his eyes checked by an opthamologist can't hurt. Did anyone…
New here...Things that are easy to swallow?
Hello, This is my first post, though I've been reading this forum for a few weeks and have learned a ton from you all. My mom was diagnosed with Stage IV throat cancer in January. So far she has had 3 of 7 chemo treatments, and 5 out of 35 rad treatments. Her tumor is large, and her esophogus was already narrow to begin…
my own scan fear
Hey guys, Sorry for another post, but your all so good at making anxiety go away. Whe I had pnuemonia in December 2012, they did ct-scan and it showed spots on both lungs that they were pretty sure was from the pnuemonia. I have to get a follow up chest ct-scan at 3 months and that is here, will get script on dr appt 3/12,…
Peg tube Bleeding
Hi everyone, tonight I had bleeding at my peg tube site. I removed gauze I put under the plastic thingy to hold it because it has these raised square disks on it that push into my skin and hurt. So every morning and night I change it and clean it and replace gauze it always has dried blood on it and never thought anything…
Chefdaddy
chefdaddy, pls. give me an update on your status. I haven't been on for probably 2 yrs but thot of u often. I hope all is well with you.
do u have a permanent trake
do u have a perm trake? if so, how long have u had it? do u still cough a lot? have u had any complications? what problems do u have with it? any info will be appreciated. on another note, if someone reading this knows chefdaddy, can u please give me an update on his status. i haven't been on here for over a year so i'm…
Too much Mucous??
Too much Mucous?? My husband is in week 5 for radiation and this weekend was very bad nonstop coughing, MUCOUS and vomiting. He lost 5 pound over the weekend. Is that normal to have blood in your vomit? What we can do to make this side effect easy on him? Any suggestions please? Thanks, Hetal
Post tx leg/body pain from drug withdrawls?
Finally were told the leg pain and overall body aches after tx are being caused by the narcatic withdrawls? He has come off his fentayl patches and Dillaudid in the last month and started feeling more pain. He was then given Vicodin to help. It helps take away the pain and as soon as it wears off, the pain is back in high…
Update on dad's confussion
Hi everyone, Dad saw the oncologist Friday and he was pretty happy with the progress he is making. The dr. thinks the confusion is coming from the fentenyal and the nausea meds. This is being made even worse because of the horrible withdrawl. He changed his nausea meds and wants to see him next week. He also thinks the…
I'm back! But.......
Well, it's been since nov 30th that i've finished rads (30). I have some taste back (maybe 50-60%) and some saliva (maybe 25%). But i wake up every morning with this build up of "flem or mucous" i guess it is, at the back of my throat that is extremely difficult to clear. My voicebox is affected by it, i sound like Darth…
Dry mouth remedies?
Has anyone found a product that helps with the dry mouth? Either OTC or prescription. Jeff wakes up every hour because his mouth is so dry and also to pee from all the water he drinks all day and night. Thanks Sue
Who has recieved H&N radiation twice?
I had SSC on my left tonsil in 2006 and base of tongue on the right side in 2012. I got rads only in 2006 and rads and chemo in 2012. I am now almost one year post treatment and have still have partial anemia (low hemoglobin) and severe damage to my swallowing function (epiglotis is stiff and non functional) and my saliva…
Things that make you go "hmmmm".....
I say that because I'm coming up on the 1 year 'discovery' of my beast and wondered, when do we start our 'survivors' count? When they discover the mass in your neck? When the ENT snakes the camera out of your nose and tells you "you have a tumor on the base of your tongue? When the pathology report comes back from the…
Healing strenghth and unconditional love
Hello everyone ! Vale brought up a good subject in another topic. One I feel is very true. I am an animal lover, and have always had pets....at one time even a pet goose. I lost my german shepard Chassie and my cat Tubby at the very beginning of my journey with the beast. And I swore I would never have another pet. Fast…
Now Cellulitis
A week ago, the needle sliped and the Taxol dumped into the arm tissue rather than the vein. So I limpt home and treated my sore arm with an ice pack and some extra pain meds. Fast forward a week to my next visit. The PA looked shocked when she saw my arm. "It's infected" Oh Good. Your neutraphils are in the tank also. So…
Johnny 5 ~ New Thread...
Johnny 5 Posts: 1 Joined: Mar 2013 Mar 02, 2013 - 12:26 pm How's John Doing New I am 51, overweight but in otherwise great health. Recently diagnosed w an encapsulated SSC in my tonsil after about 6 - 8 weeks of increased swelling on one side after strep throat inflated both tonsils. Surgeon staged it at - "stage 2+" (he…
Rash from Erbitux/Radiation
My sweet 83 year old mom recently finished treatment for a large tumor that started in the tonsil area and spread into the lumph nodes. Her last radiation treatment was on 2/19/13 and her last Erbitux on 2/22/13. She tolerated the treatments well but in the last weeks began developing the rash that we were told by both…
lump in tumor site again...ugh !
Hey everyone, I've been having issues w/lymphedema non-stop for over a year. I WILL NOT push the panic button on the new lump I found in my neck, as I recently had that biopsy in Dec., on this area. Feels like a swollen lymph node, but hard again. Dang it, does the fear of reoccurrance EVER disappear ? It does hurt. I go…
Ultrasound is in...
Last weeks MRI, caused a few tests for me this week. The good news is I have one cyst on my kidney, it's small, something to watch, nothing I will worry about. However, my thyroid has a lot of nodules, not to uncommon. Although one of mine is rather large 31x21x20 mm; this one and one other have their own blood flow. The…
I ducked, it missed
Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement and prayers. John aka skiffin your post made me laugh out loud when I was waiting for my CT scan. The person next to me saidso something funny? And I said, oh a funny email from a friend.....and that's how I feel about you all. After many tests, CT scan confirms 3…
HPV P-16 Throat Cancer Survivor-Am I Putting My Sexual Partners At Risk?
I am NED for over 2 years. I was HPV positive P-16 Stage IV throat cancer. I had a tonsillectomy, 35 radiation treatments, chemo, and a modified radical neck dissection. Then the wife filed for divorce. Now, I'm now out on my own entering into my first sexual relationship, post-divorce. The Drs told me I could've been…
Food...a few bites
Almost suddenly, my throat felt well enough to try some soft foods, ate chocolate pudding, scrambled eggs with country gravy, and oatmeal over the last two days. Not alot mind you, but the tastes are great and driving me to want more. I hope this is a turning point as I had gone from 225 lbs to 141lbs in the past year,…
~~~We are NED!!!~~~
Well folks I can now say we are NED after our very long road since August!! Kreg is still recovering as we are 12wks post. He is still having problems with his stomach and the achiness all over. But, it's a small price to pay to beat this crap! For those of you starting out I hope you keep your faith and know that this is…

Head and Neck Cancer

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