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Head and Neck Cancer

Melanoma in head and neck area?
my friend has been treated for 20 years for her arthritis with a drug that has high risk for cancer. in febuary 2015 she was told she has non hogeskins lymphoma, she did some chemo with great results. in late may 2015 they found melanoma on her forehead and removed with surgery late june 2015 there was a large fast growing…
hit my first wall today
I am now into just the 3rd week of chemo and 2nd week of radiation, everything has been fairly smooth up to today when I felt, for the first time, the radiation burn in my throat. Came home and made the nasty backing soda, salt gargle and it greatly minimized the discomfort immediately. So far, I have been going to the car…
August 18,2015~~Graduation Day
Yesterday, having a routine visit and scope schuduled with my surgeon Dr Ricardo Carrau, at The James in Columbus Ohio, I was given a total surprise and the most welcome news. He came in with 3 of his students, did the usual poking and prodding..and of course, down the nose scope..explaining what he had done to his…
eating solids
I am 7 1/2 weeks out from radiation therapy. I still have a sore on the bottom of my tongue. Did you force yourself to try to food like eggs or soup or were you content to drink boost untill you mouth was more healed?
Kritter Up-date 8-15-15
Hi everyone Kritter is going through treatment and having a very hard time; please keep her in your thought & prayers that she will have the strength to continue. A few weeks ago a lot of her hair was falling out so she cut it all off; I told her that I will do the same to help in supporting her through her treatment. So…
NED....with a "but......" hanging on the end of it!
Oncology called today to tell me there is no sign of a recurrance.....BUT.....one lymph node lit up....it is normal sized, but that "we" (ongology and ENT) will be keeping an eye on it....kind of raining on my parade . I keep telling myself that it's nothing...around here this time of year, we're breathing smoke 24/7 from…
Scar Tissue problems
I had radiation and chemo for voice box cancer four years ago and have been cancer free since then. Lately I have had a very sore throat, itchy cough and pflem in my throat. I just went to my ENT, sure that my cancer had come back but thank goodness everything looked great. She said my symptons were from scar tissue from…
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO TNM Staging of Head and Neck Cancer and Neck Dissection Classification
Just an FYI; I ran across this Guide and found it very helpful on staging and Neck dissection by the different locations for H & N. http://www.entnet.org/sites/default/files/NeckDissection_QuickRefGuide_highresFINAL.pdf American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Tumor Staging by Site A. Oral Cavity B. Oropharynx C. Larynx…
SUPERTHREAD UPDATES~
I'm working on updating the links on the SuperThread..., it's been awhile. While I'm working on it, my stopping point will be recognized by GREEN text, until I get back to it again.. If you want something added, or find an update for a broken link, let me know and I'll get to that also.. Thanks, John
Table breaking
Mom is coping. We are into week 3. Her hair is thinning. Her mouth is a little iffy but no mouth sores so far it appears. But we have a compliant. Her table keeps breaking! Every week her table has broke. Is this normal? Two times she has been down there and it was broken and no one told us before the hour drive there.…
reactions to first chemo treatment
Well we were excited for my husband Robert's first chemo treatment. He is ready for it to shrink up. First treatment was Monday and they gave him a bag of benadryl before the chemo. About 20 minutes after chemo started he started having stabbing pains in the middle of his back and his blood pressure dropped. They rushed…
This may help dry mouth
I have a few new root cavities and my dentist gave me Remin Pro made in Germany. I selected strawberry. I am supposed to put a pearl size drop at gum line each night with my finger. He told me it could increase saliva and it has. I don't have a huge issue with dry mouth anymore but when I use the Remin Pro, I actually…
Acupuncture & Taste recovery - Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue
Hi All, I am very encouraged by the input from MrsBD. It has been over 3 years for my diagnosis and treatment. (Details are all there in initial postings.) I have been having a strange 3-4 month cycle of heightened sensitivity to all things oral. Speaking loud, even on phone, hurts the tongue 3 Years later I can summarise…
symtoms
Have a question , my brother had throat cancer 3 yrs ago , scans have all been good, the problem is where his neck was cut on seemed sticky the other day so he took a wash cloth and wiped it off, and clear water begin to squirt out enough he said to fill a pop bottle cap full? After his surgery 3 yrs ago he had a lot of…
Surgery vs No surgery
I have read many of your stories and I know that each case is different. The day my husband had his biopsy the ENT told me that it's not an area they can operate on because of where it is and that chemo and radiation with the possibility of seed implants after treatment are the course of treatment. From some of your…
MEC salivary gland cancer (submandibular), newly diagnosed
Hi! I am thyroid cancer survivor and now being Dx with salivary gland cancer (mec of submandibular gland). This may have been caused by radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer... So one was done the other came in. Im so sad! I just had two wonderful babies and i cant enjoy them as i have to concentrate on all these…
Stage IV T3N2Mo Looking for answers
Hello All, My hubby is finally feeling good. Gained some weight which is great. Went from 255k (and no not chunky....lol..6'3' big dude) all the way down to 170.No tube needed, but got pretty thin after treatments. He is 8 Months out now, and just weighed in at 188. He looks great, and is in my estimate 75% which is…
Cellphone use & Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma
Hi All I have been reading up on MEC a little. Things have gone well for me so far, but I wanted to get a bit of background on risk factors for my particular form of cancer as I was at an unusual age to get it. Maybe it was just bad luck, but I definitely think I made some interesting connections. It seems the only thing…
I am volunteering again, but this time to the nursing schools.- Update 8/08/2015
I have given much thought and have decided to speak and volunteer at the colleges that teach nursing and pulmonology. We have two schools in town that train and teach nursing, RN and LVN. I will soon get the answer on speaking and volunteering to let then have experance with people who have laryngecyomy's. Most doctors and…
Question about throat constriction treatment
I have a question about the procedure to correct a throat constriction. Can it be done in the ENT 's office or does it require out patient? My husband will see a speech therapist next week and his ENT in a few to see if his swallowing problem is due to a constriction; my mother once had a problem swallowing and her Dr said…
Cancer in throat
My husband was diagnosed with a cancerous growth in his throat , said it was to the left of his voice box. The biopsy showed there was one lymp node affected. Dr. told us he would treat it with 7 weeks (total of 35) of radiation with 7 chemo treatments and the chemo would be mild but was doing the chemo to accelerate the…
1st chemo
I had my first chemo yesterday (Erbitrux). I had a little trouble with reactions, so they had to stop the drip twice and slow it don so I could finish treatment. Took about 5 hours, which I will tolerate gladly for 7 weeks to minimize side effects. The day made me weary but not nausea or anything like that. I had an…
How much radiation
I know some of us are concerned about radiation from scans so I did a little research. Interestingly the only radiation from PET is from the short lived tracer that they inject you with. It is only 5-7 mSv (millisievert) and we all get 2-5 mSv through natural exposure per year. CT scans are more on the order of 15 mSv.…
head and neck radiation/chemo recovery
I am almost six weeks out from finishing my treatment. I have a patch of muscositis under my tounge that seems like it will be gone soon. I would hope that when it goes there will be nothing preventing me from eating. Its almost as if the mouth pain and not being able to eat is at least as bad as having cancer hanging over…
Seed implants
When my husband got diagnosed they mentioned seed implants after the treatments are over. Have any of you had the experience of having the seed implants or know of someone who has? Is there a time period that they're active? Any personal experience good or bad would be greatly appreciated.
memory
tried to post earlier but didnt go thru. my question is : is it " normal " for chemo to effect your memory pretty bad ? mine is shot to hell and i dont know if its age ( 75 ) or the chemo. i,m 4.5 yrs out from tonsal cancer. just thought i would get some input.
Eating after treatment
My husband finished radiation and chemo treatment 3 weeks ago For hypopharynx cancer. He lost his ability to eat before the treatment and depends on a Peg. He is hoping to resume eating soon but so far cannot manage to get any food down; wondering how long others had to wait or any suggestions. Thanks in advance
recently diagnosed mucoepidermoid carcinoma
Hello. I have recently been diagnosed with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid gland. The pathologist said it looks like intermediate grade, but the doctors would like to treat it as high grade because it is affecting at least one lymph node and has invaded my facial nerve on that side. They are planning to fully…
Scan results
In February, I had another mandibulectomy here in STL to remove the fibula put in my jaw back in 2011. Have been dealing with fistula in cheek since last Sept. Several weeks ago a new hole popped up next to the fistula in a former surgical scar. The next day, I thought I saw a small piece of bone peeking out. The next day…
Lack of Taste
Ok my mom has just started radiation this week and chemo started last week. Already she said she has thick mucas and no taste. Everything tastes like cardboard and she was struggling to even eat dinner last night. They are hitting her with 66 gray of radiation whatever that means (we didn't even know this until yesterday…

Head and Neck Cancer

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