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Head and Neck Cancer

Archives for September 2016

T minus 20 ... Radiation for SCC on lower tongue and in the lymph nodes
Got fitted for my mask today. My first radiation is Oct 6; it feels like a year away, but I'm sure I will be in the middle of it before I know it. My cancer journey started Aug 3, when I was told the lumps in my neck were lymph nodes that had SCC that had metastisized from "somewhere", but we weren't sure where.…
Not much progress in cancer treatment and mortality from 1950 to 2004
Hello all, This is not about H&N cancers, but statitistics about all cancers, which shows in the period from 1950 to 2004 (the latest I could find in this source, which unfortunately has all those copyright warnings) Here we go: in 1950 the number of cancer deaths in both sexes and all races in U.S. were 193.1 per 100,000…
1 Year NED...BUT
As of the end of August (2016), I was ready to celebrate my first year after treatment for metastaic base-of-tongue cancer ... and then I wound up in the hospital again. I went in for my bi-monthly checkup with my ENT, got a clean bill of health, and felt wonderful about being NED (although I had been feeling progressively…
4.5 years NED
H&N Brothers & Sisters, I got my 4 year 6 month NED today and wished to thank all the members who offered me advice since December 2011. The names change, but the overall number of members continues to grow. I liked to think every little post or comment in the forum help the non-initiated and old-timers alike. I am…
First rads and chemo yesterday. Today was day 2 of rads; 30 more to go!
Yesterday was my first day of treatment. Just as it happened on the simulation day, I kept thinking how much tighter the mask felt, compared to how it felt the day they made it! I managed to get through with a prescription for Ativan and Pandora playing in the background. Today was my second rads. 2 down, 30 to go!…
Squamous Cell Carcinoma as Secondary Cacer. Unknown Primary
Hi , I'm a 62y/o Aussie male .Retired Hotel Publican & Head chef. Married for 35 years. Retired for 8 years . Spent 6 travelling around OZ in our 28' caravan. I have been diagnosed, with SCC. of the Lymph Nodes on the left side of my neck.Ultrasound FNA was done. CT with contrast of head and neck . To conferm the SCC. But…
Why is he fighting every step
Hi I just need some opinions. My husband has been going thru rad and chemo and is almost done, 1 more chemo and 7 more radiation treatments. We were given the whole scenerio from day one of what to expect along the way and it has gone just that way. Hes lost 43 and counting pounds hasnt been able to swallow anything except…
clinical trial
floor of mouth resection
Please help. I'm in an absolute panic,I was diagnosed on August 18th with Squamos cell carcinoma in the floor of my mouth.I just met with a surgical team the other day and they want to do a floor of the mouth resection and take a skin graft from my thigh to rebuild the floor of my mouth along with a neck dissection .They…
New Memeber with decision to make
Hi. I am a new member. I have tonsil scc p16 HPV positive. And a couple or three lymh nodes effected. The primary was the tonsil and they took it out last week (It was 1.2cm) Nothing BOT or anywhere else. (I think I am getting all these acronyms correct :) . When they removed tonsil last week they confirmed it was the…
Why not Immunotherapy for stage 4 b cancer of base the tongue
Hello, I was recently diagnosed with stag 4b cancer in the base of the tongue. I will see my oncologist for the second time on Mon. 9/12. he called me Friday morning and told me he'll be using erbitux and 30 sessions of radation therapy. I asked him about phase 3 clincal trials of immunoTherapy, but he told me…
Most common side effects of Erbitux and Radiation Therapy - NEWLY Diagnosed -
Hello I have recently been diagnosed with squamous cell cancer of base of tongue HPV positive stage 4 b. I'll be seeing my oncologist for the 2nd time on Monday. He has told me he'll treat me with Erbitux and 30 sessions of radiation therapy (6 continuous weeks, Mon thru Fri). I read about side effects of erbitux and…
New caregiver whos overwhelmed
Hi Im new to this site just wondering if anyone else as a caregiver feels like overwhelmed in so many different ways?
Burning Tongue and Mouth
Good morning, I apologize for all the questions this week but things are not good with my poor husband. Can anyone tell me the best relief for burning tongue and mouth? He has 6 rad treatments left so trying to help him make it.
5 week post treatment update + MRI
Doing well except for some remaining mucositis and light inflammation in throat. Fatigue is dissipating - walking 2 miles a day with some light weight workouts. Still on feeding tube and having a barium swallow X-ray tomorrow to see what kind of stricture is in my throat. Down a little less than 20 lbs.but stabilized…
Benecalorie
Has anyone used Benecalorie? It was recommended to me today. Any reviews? Supposedly it has 330 in 1 1/2 ounces And is neutral flavored. That combined with a Boost Very High Calorie is almost 900 calories in a little over 9 ounces. My husbands doc was not happy at all with his 7 pound in one week weight loss.
An Update
Hi all - thought I'd check in plus give an update of how treatment is going. Tomorrow I start my final cycle of chemo. This being Carboplatin, Paclitaxel and Cetuximab. I'm infused every Thursday and tomorrow will be number 21 of 24. I hate to say it but the Carbo has been tough. My body has developed a dislike for it and…
Three Weeks Down, Four Weeks Left
Hello everyone, I joined the board back in November shortly after I was diagnosed, just haven’t posted.. Since then its been a hell of a ride. I’m doing seven weeks under the mask and just finished week three starting week four today. So far I’m managing okay, I’m still eating but everything is soft, lots of soups and…
Side effects to expect with rads to upper, left back where back molars used to be + left neck?
I've been reading a lot of posts on the discussion board, but none seem to talk about cancer in the upper mouth, on the gingiva (gums). When they removed the tumor, they removed three UPPER molars and a canine tooth on the left side, and did a partial maxillectomy. The plan is to target the radiation on the upper mouth on…
Struggling emotionally
I'm 2.5 weeks post ringing the bell and I've just been hit with the worst depression and anxiety and it feels awful. I'm constantly worrying that I won't be the same person I was before, that I will struggle to reintegrate back into our normal routine, that I will somehow fail at the things that used to come so easily. I…
Week 1 of husband's lingual tonsil cancer
My husband was diagnosed with Stage III lingual tonsil cancer (left side) with left lymph node involvement. We are doing rad and chemo (Cisplatin). He started both on August 24th (Wed.) We were under the impression that things wouldn't get challenging until end of week 2 or 3 but Saturday early morning he woke with a…
scans
Just wondering what everyone has had for scans since thier treatments .My ongoligist does not seem to be to worried about them .I had a CT scan 3 months after my treatments and one again at two years only because i insisted with my family doc that i wanted one .Just had my 3 year check up says everything looks and feels…
HE's for laryngectomees
My tracheostomy was performed July 22, 2016. I've been trying various HME's, and I find them very uncomfortable. I also know they are very important for a number of reasons, chief among them in my priorities is using the voice prosthesis effectively. Has anyone here had experience with this situation? Can you recommend a…
Neck stiff and tongue feels weird
I am just over 3 years out from treatment. Everything has been going very well, then the other day I woke up and my neck was stiff, my tongue and chin felt like I pulled every muscle in my neck and mouth.It has since gooten better, but still has not gone away. There are no lumps on my neck or tongue, no sores or marks in…
TSH and T4
Got my 2nd NED today officially (6 months out). however, came back with high TSH (10) but normal T4. Going to be referred to an endo. Is a TSH of 10 high? It looks like the normal range is up to 4, so 10 definately looks scary to me.
Fatigue
I was diagnosed with BOT that had spread to my lymphnodes . Finished treatments 3 years ago three rounds of chemo 35 rounds of radiation so far cancer free at last week's check up .My question is does anyone still have extreme fatigue some days are better than others but never got my stamina back totally .

Head and Neck Cancer

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