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SCC tonsil
I was just diagnosed with SCC (HPV+) of the tonsil including 3 lymph nodes. I had the tonsil (clear margins) and nodes removed surgically, have met with a radiation onc and will meet with a medical onc next week. Though my surgeon thinks that rads only will be needed after surgery, the onc docs will I'm sure advise for…
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NED!
hello everyone, just wanted to share the good news. We saw the ENT and the oncologist this week and we hear the sweet words: no evidence of disease. It is amazing to think that 6 months have passed since Dmitri finished treatment. He is doing really well. Of course he deals with some issues but overall he is doing great.…
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Need break please
Spent great week at lake but when home got sick. Struggled five days and soon to be two weeks between Icu and step down. Cellulitis of breast. Not cancer related. Doing dry vac or maybe mastectomy to close.battling very low blood pressure and c diff. Just drained.
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New guy here, with a question.
Hello fellow travelers, I am in remission from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (ssc), since 9/12. Have had neck and tongue muscle spasms ever since then which ive pretty much learned to deal with, they still suck but ive learned to deal with them. Recently i've had a sore throat. Not your basic "sore throat" this is like having…
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New Article
Encouraging news on the PD-1 front. But, the FDA continues to have their head stuck up their collective butts. You still can't treat SCC in the lungs that started in the H&N. If it started in the lungs, your good to go. Crazy huh? Be safe and happy, Joe…
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A year ago
Today was the anniversary of the day we got the diagnosis. I can still remember what a scary, overwhelming and completely horrible day it was. All the unknowns, all the fears, all the worries, everything. The road to recovery was not easy for us. Dima's cancer was advanced and he ended up in the hospital after each of the…
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update and questions.
Okay, I am in 20th day of radiation now and just hit the no taste barrier. I can still swallow, with water, so I still eat some things but take 4 cans jevity a day. Just barely maintaining weight, but as long as they are good with it, so am I. I don't really have any sores in my mouth and still manage to swallow, so what…
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No more adjuvant
We've booked a bed in the hospital for the last 2 days and will be here at least through the weekend. We just couldn't manage the side effects of pain, dehydration, and vomiting at home. These side effects are from the 1st of 3 planned rounds of adjuvant chemotherapy with Cisplatin and 5FU. All along my husband has been on…
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Survivor Hope
Hi, I am the wife of a Head and Neck survivor. Just wanted to give all of you a little hope. Nine years ago today my husband was diagnosed with with stage 4 pharyngeal cancer. All I could find about it was that he would only live maybe 12 months. Well here we are 9 years later and he is still here. Treatment was tough but…
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anyone ever not eat or use pegtube because they are mad at wife?
Ok I never have liked airing dirty laundry but this is life or death so here goes. My husband Robert diagnosed first part of June tonsil and neck and 3 lymph nodes involved. Well Robert never has been a big eater and he weighed 129 lbs and 5 11. They put tube in before treatment started. He had reaction to first chemo but…
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Recovery
So mom is in her last week. She has 4 days of treatment left. Her throat is so raw and tight she is having trouble getting anything at all down. She's using magic mouthwash but it's not helping a whole lot becuase her throat is so tight. After treatment ends, how long does this last on average? Does the throat ever loosen?…
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Worrying
Fr
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Hello Again
At some point, I just got too busy to keep up with the forum. As with everything else, I needed to tell myself to make time, as this site was so helpful to us when we really needed it. Doug might come on and update for himself, but the short form of the news is: he's finally joined the low-thyroid club. The GP called today…
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Searing, stabbing mucositis?
Since starting the adjuvant chemo with Cisplatin and 5-FU over a 4 days span the pain from mucositis seems different in nature from the radiation treatments and Cisplatin. Words my husband has used to help describe it are burning, searing, stabbing, granular. It seems to be more localized - especially up behind the palate,…
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Dry Mouth
I feel like I'm going backwards in a sense. I completed radiation 7 weeks ago to the day. Seems my salivary function was better during treatment and up to a few weeks ago. It just seems like they shut down over the last few weeks. I thought after treatment I would only have one way to go, that was to only improve. Getting…
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Gelclair for mucositis
Just wanted to mention one more option for oral mucositis.... Gelclair. Here is the info from their website. www.gelclair.com Barbara
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Hey kids.....guess what time it is!?!
Yes....it's ceiling fan time....again. I'm doing better this time, I think....I didn't start getting worried until last Friday...and the scan is day after tomorrow....so, that means I didn't climb up here for a two week stay, just a few days. As always, I'd appreciate the prayers, good mojo, crossing digits....anything…
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Scc in Gums
Im 22 years old. Diagnosed with SCC in my gums. Doctors did surgery and i was doing pretty great. They couldn't decide if it was stage 2 or 3. Recommended radiation But didnt require it. I started radiation but since i started getting symptoms of chemo patients the doctor said that was very unusual not normal. I want to…
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Financial milestone!
As many of you know, I started my journey of fighting cancer with NO insurance. My employer keeps us under a certain # of hours as not to have to offer benefits. My husband is self employed so we honestly could not afford the premiums when this all started back in December 2013. I had to fight like crazy to get ANY…
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Neck support and elevation while sleeping?
For the last month and a half my husband has been sleeping in a recliner to help with the mucositis. I bought him one of those airline neck pillows to help stabilize his head and neck but he still wakes up with a fairly stiff and uncomfortable neck from it falling forward or to the side as he sleeps. Can anyone recommend…
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Interesting article on recurrence
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/more-patients-are-hearing-words-you-have-cancer-again-n414846 j.
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Trials and how to choose
Hello everyone, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with choosing a trial for mets ? I'm on a national waiting list for any matches for my specific tumor type. But of as today none have been found. I was given a name at the Mayo here in Minnesota that I will be checking out. (trial specific for rare cancers but not…
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Tonsil biopsy
Hi, I have a biopsy scheduled for late August for what the ent thinks is a regrown left tonsil but isn't quite positive. I was wondering if you could share your experience with having one? Everything that happened during and after? This will be an office procedure. Thanks.
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Thoughts of suicide?
Just wondered if any of you thought about doing yourself in when first diagnosed? I was reading an article online today that some when first told they had cancer (especially younger people commit suicide). It got me to remembering that first week after I knew I was in bad shape. I have to admit the thought flickered thru…
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Burning in esophagus, throat, stomach from 5FU
My husband just started 5FU with a pump via port for 4 days. At day 2 the burning in esophagus, throat and stomach seems unbearable. He is 100% PEG dependent at this point, inability to swallow due to intense pain. Any one else find a way to counter this side effect? Oncologist recommended over the counter Prilosec. We had…
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Pet Scans
How many Pet Scans has anyone had and do you see any relationship betwen radiation and an ischemic colon? TIA
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eating at eight weeks
Tomorrow is eight weeks post radiation/chemo for squamous cell carcinoma of my facial nerve. Earlier this week I tried to eat a fried egg and gave up on it. Today I tried some chicken rice soup. I tasted it, I enjoyed it and I had no pain. I even went back and got a bigger bowl and polished that off too. Tonight I think…
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Using Aloe juice to help promote healing in mouth
I am in my second week of treatment and was trying aloe juice to help promote healing in my mouth from the radiation. Has anyone else tried this and what experience did you have? i just swish some around my mouth and swallow, then do not drink anything for a while. Thanks and this is a great forum with lots of good info…
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Well, that sucks...
Got a PET scan last week and got the results today. The rad onc says two of the lymph nodes lit up. Fine needle biopsy next Monday to confirm and then he suggests surgery to remove them. One year after tx and dealing with the daily bs of taste and saliva issues and now this...thought I was free and clear...guess…
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I hopefully will have some normalacy back in my life
Another appointment down, this time with the Radiation Oncologist. Yes, it has been 15 1/2 years since I completed radiation, but he still sees me once a year. The appointment went well and he has given his OK, that I can start Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments. This will consist of 30 dives pre oral surgery which is to remove…