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A friend newly diagnosed
hello, i am new here but not new to cancer. I have had breast cancer 3 times. I know the cancer, surgery chemo radation drill with BC but not head and neck cancer. My frind has squamous cell cancre of her tongue.It grew at a rapid rate and they thought she would have 1/3 of her tongue removed but in 2 weeks it grew and she…
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Xylimelts
My dry mouth has gotten worse, mostly at night. During the day I can drink water, coffee, and lots of liquid to keep things in check. At night, I tend to be a mouth breather and I wake up in pain due to the lack of saliva. I tried having water by my bed, but I can't swallow until I get up and spit, gag and spit some more.…
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Need support and prayers
Hi all, Dima woke up with chest pain and difficulty breathing. We are in ten emergency room. The first doctor said she thought it was pericarditis and that I could be caused by the chemo. That was around 8am. The cardiologist came and said something we could not understand but that sounded like it wasn't that. He left…
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Frustration, depression...and guilt...
Now at 11 months post tx and the taste and saliva issues still suck big time. Better than last summer I suppose, but barely... 90% of everything I eat and drink tastes like crap or not at all. Eating the same things over and over that I know have some semblance of a taste. Nothing has helped the saliva, have tried…
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i have a question
i am 4.5 years out now and need to see if some of my issues are " normal " MY CANCER was right tonsal. the right side of my neck hurts most of the time as well as the top of my right ear, throat soar a lot of the time on the right side.my taste has never returned and my memory is shot to hell. i'm 75 yrs old and i wonder…
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Worst day of my life
Hello all. So glad I found this site. My mom was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma 2 weeks ago Which has been misdiagnosed for months as bad sinus/allergies. Every since I received that phone call, I feel as if the air has been taken away from me. I can't rest, eat, or function properly. I stay strong while in the…
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new to it all
Hello, everyone. I was just diagnosed with cancer in my neck. Details still sketchy but four biopsy samples of my left side neck all positive. I am now waiting to hear from VA about scheduling whatever is to come. They said I will need a trach tube and feeding tube for the duration of treatment but both will be removed…
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Down in Paradise
I am down here in a tropical paradise once again; it is an herbal garden where no poison of any kind are used. In the morning I go out looking for what I want to eat for the day, fresh Mango, Papaya, Star Fruit, Pineapples, that is just a few. I am doing some new stuff making a Chaya drink with leaves right off the chaya…
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When your boss just doesn't understand...
I have a rant to post. I am so frustrated! I am two years out from treatment, but we all know that there is a "new normal" that must be learned and dealt with. Well, I have chronic dry mouth. I drink water ALL day and need mints to help with spit production. It's just something that I deal with, accept and handle. Well, my…
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Great news - port removed tomorrow there's HOPE!
Had my second, 6 month follow up and lung CT and bloodwork look good. Last treatment was Sept. 2012. That is less than half of the golden "5 year survival rate" but I'll take what I can get. Wishing the same for you- please HOPE!
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First positive CT in 2 years..
Small victories. My CT this week showed everything stable and the large tumor in my lungs reduced by 20%. I would have loved to see some reduction in the most troublesome (for me, not the doc's) tumor on the bottom of my tongue, but for now, I'll take stable. So, 8 weeks from now another CT and we'll see what we see.…
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Dropping In
Hi all - thought I would post an update as it has been a while. Had my two year scans / checks etc in March. Got the NED so happy about that. Unfortunately I lost my Father suddenly whilst he was was on a business trip in Sydney in March. So that has been a fairly sucky time but as they say, that's life. Certainly makes…
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scared
My "team" (ENT, Surgeon, Tumor Board) has met and discussed my case and confirmed that i need to have to trach and gastr tubes placed before radiation and chemo. The trach has me scared to death because I have to be fully conscious while my throat is being sliced open and my airway invaded. Honestly I am not sure I can go…
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A little confused
I had my first consult with my chemo and radiation docs. Im to have 30 treaments of rad, but they offered me 3 treatments of chemo and said it was optional. Thay said the chemo only offered 5% effectiveness. My iniatial reaction is to take the 5% and be happy. Im looking for other opinions and comments. See my profile for…
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Good news
good news for me, my neuclear scans show I'm clear of bowel cancer. The tumour they took out is gone without spreading. The three small tumours don't show up at all, so I guess I'm cancer free. So relieved. I just didn't want to start treatment after all the head and neck treatment I've had,
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Two years and three months NED
great report with scan coming back clear and scope with no problems. PA said I was out of the weeds and needed to go live life! WI'll see him again in year for the next three years! Not sure it has finally sank in but thankful for each new day! What are others impression when one reaches this milestone? Possible rate of…
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Mom has Passed
Thank you all for the prayers for my mother. She called the EMTs this morning saying not able to breath. Took off life support two hours later. Please pray for my family during this difficult time. This is hard on me since I lost Jim 15 months ago to this crap too. Debbie
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New normal
hi all! Dima continues to heal he feels better in ever way and we are enjoying our new normal as a family. I hate the idea of a"new normal" the 1st time I read about it. Now I feel thankful for it yes, somethings suck but there are pluses too. our new normal includes planning a super heroes, princesses and rainbows party…
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Tramadol and breathing
My mom has developed severe pain in her lower back. The oridinal PET in Feb 2015 showed some uptake in lower spine so I suspect it has pread in here back. They gave her Loritab but she couldn't stand or walk while taking it and it wore off in a couple hours. Now her PC has prescribed Tramodol which is helping some. I was…
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Drinking alcohol during early stages of treatment
My husband has recenthe begun chemo and radiation for his stage 4 base of tongue cancer. To date, he has received two days of cisplatin chemo and just finished his 7th of 35 radiation treatments. He wishes to have a few beers with dinner and all the data given to us by the doctors advise against alcohol while you are in…
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confused..2 different treatment plans
52 year old woman with SCC right lingual tonsil and 2 neck lymph nodes. I also have several active areas in my chest which they say could be inflammation or cancer. Current plan is chemo/radiation for 7 weeks no surgery. 2nd opinion suggests 2 surgeries/hospitalizations followed by 6 weeks radiation-no chemo. I am told…
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Hard Palate Cancer
Hi, been awhile since I posted, but I have been on a lot reading and sympathizing, with everyone. I finished Radiation on January 6th, and Chemo on Dec 15, 2014. They said from looking with a scope I was NED, on a couple of occasions. But I wasn't.... I was all smiles and happiness until the 14th of May, when I got my new…
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1/2 way of Treatment
Hi all, My husband finished 18/35 rad treatment and head 2nd round of high dose Cisplatin last Monday. He's misserable, no appetite, cramping in the epigastirc area. His skin is slightly burnt from the radiation... I can't wait until he's done. The lymph node on the side of his neck is about a pea size... (it was about 3cm…
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Knew It Was Coming -- Insurance Companies Suck
Friends, Knew it was coming and it finally happened...even thought NCI and MD Anderson recommend specific scheudle for followup scans my insurance company has denied my next scan (two year) because it is not "medically necessary"!! Have others had issues...thanks! Jon
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Follow up Question
Hi All, to Brief my huband history: he has stage 4 adenoid cystic carcinoma in left max spread to base of skull (T4N1X0). He was scheduled for 3 rounds of cisplatin and 35 rad treatments. He will have 3rd round of cisplatin tomorrow, 6 rad treatments left (however his radonc may give more depending on the scan result we…
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Swallowing problems after chemoradiation
hey guys I've been offline for s few weeks. My docs finally decided that to stop my constant pneumonia from aspiration, they would put in another G tube and make me NPO. So most of you know that means I can't eat or drink anything by mouth. I feed my self Ensuremthru my tube several times a day, and have terrible stomachs…
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Jaw immobility post-treatment - physical therapy??
Hello, my mom has now been through two rounds of treatment for tonsillar cancer - one round of radiation, and a second round of combined radiation and chemo. She finished the second round at the end of Feb. 2015. The treatment has resulted in a severe lack of mobility in her jaw, and it's continuing to get worse. The…
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"Pass the Salt" Hyponatremia
Just an FYI about a possible condition we may be prone to because of our eating issues. CURE-Cancer Updates, Research, Education, Vol. 10 No.2/2011 summer issue page 22. Author- Teresa Mcusic "Hyponatremia is a condition that results in an imbalance of the ratio of water to salt in body fluids...In my patients going…
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NPC-Clear?
HI All - I subscribe to google alerts for nasopharyngeal cancer because of my family's own experiences with it and there are a lot of exciting things going on in this field with new kinds of treatment, etc. I saw this one alert yesterday, has anyone seen this? http://www.prurgent.com/2015-07-08/pressrelease389289.htm What…
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Back from Hell Lite
A year ago I had a left mandible resection, which I described as going to the brink of Hell and back, due to the surgery itself, several added complications, 13 days in hospital and another month at home. On June 19 I had a radial flap resection, where they took bone and tissue from my left arm and used that as filler for…