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Thanks for the encouragement!!
Debbie and Wgaruss, I appreciate your feedback. Now I don't feel so down. Guess I'm just not patient! I too thought what if I can never eat! But I am thankful to be alive. It's truly amazing that we can even get through these hard times. I really enjoy this forum. Sometimes you learn more here than from the doctors. Lol
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Salivary Glands Done, nada. Help
3 yrs out from treatment. 7 weeks Rad & Chemo. Finally lost the Salivary Glands, next will be the thyroid. Already on meds for that. This extremely dry mouth is driving my insane. What the hell did that Rad Dr dose Me with. Ton of stomach issues & keeping food in. Now losing My Favorite ENT, moving to new state. So in 4…
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Saliva problem?
Hey ya'll, it's about 04:00 am and I can't sleep. Only sleeping about 2-3 hours at at ime these days! have something weird that started on Monday. It seems like a increase in saliva production or maybe it's because I'm swallowing less because of the pain and it's building up. But it's really a pain in the ****. i have to…
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Soft or Easy to Swallow Foods
Hey everyone, i'm writing on behalf of my mom. She's having more and more difficulty with eating/swallowing foods. It's gotta be pretty small/chopped up/etc. in order to get it down, and even then, she tends to cough up quite a bit. She's had pudding, yogurt, ice cream, soups, eggs, and cream of wheat so much that she's…
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Taste Buds - when will they return!?
My husband just completed 6 weeks of radiation (42 treatments) for squamous cell carcinoma, base of tongue. He did well during treatment as he only lost 8 lbs., did not have a feeding tube and never took any narcotic pain medication. He is taking non-narcotic pain meds. His biggest problem is severe mucus, throat pain and…
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HBOT treatment
Had tonsil cancel in 2008. everything great now. in 2010 i need 7 teeth extraxted. Did 32 HBOT drives. fast forward to today. 10 years cancer free. just wondering if anyone can answer a question. i need 22 teeth extracted now for dentures. like i said hbot on 2010 . will i need hbot treatments again? my jaw is rock solid…
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Second opinion on olfactory neuroblastoma
What doctor/hospital would you go to for a second opinion on this type of tumor. I have just been diagnosed and worry that the head and neck surgeon that I will see on June 1, 2016 may not be familiar with this tumor. I have read that it is very rare. Thanks for any information you can give me.
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Candida - Fungus - Dysplasia
Hi, Everyone - In October I posted under this topic, but it was a casualty of the site's techno snafu. So, to recap, in 2016 my husband underwent hemiglossectomy for Stage 1 SCC HPV+ BOT cancer. This followed years of monitoring a patch of leukoplakia which would come and go. Surgery was the sole treatment, and it went…
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Still can't eat! Ugh...
I was diagnosed with bas of tongue and tonsil cancer. I finished treatment on May 21st 2018. I have a feeding tube. I still can't eat any soft or solid foods. The only thing I can get down is pudding. I got so sick of eating that I quit for awhile cause it was making me nauseated. I do my throat excersizes almost every…
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nasopharyngeal cancer
My husband was diagnosed with this in late March. He is currently undergoing radiation treatment and chemo. I would like to hear from some people who have had this cancer; specifically how long does it take to recover and what is the "worst" thing about having it. Thanks.
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Need Help From Phranie51 or people who fought recurrences
Hello, I had right BOT HPV+ diagnosed in August 6, 2016. That was "treated" with 35 rads and 9 weeks of Erbitux. As of Feb. or March 2017, I resumed a normal life minus side effects of radiation. The cancer recccured on August 2 2018 in right BOT and tonsil. A smooth talkig SO at Stanford promised he'll "Cure" me, I…
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Neck discomfort 17 months out
Laser surgery for BOT HPV+ cancer in December 2017, modified radical neck dissection/both side, took 57 lymph nodes/cancer only spread to 1, doc called it an "indolent" cancer. 30 rads in Feb-March 2018. Just had a CT scan of neck soft tissues last month, all clear. My problem is neck discomfort. There's always been some,…
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Tongue reconstruction surgery
Hello All: My husband was just diagnosed with recurrent tongue cancer. We are still waiting for an appointment, but I think he is looking at losing at least the majority of his tongue (he has already lost 1/3 first time around). I have two questions: 1) Who is the best tongue reconstruction surgeon on the East Coast? 2)…
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Third Time Around
Seems that every 2 or 2 1/2 years cancer returns. I was originally diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland (33 rad and 7 chemo). 2 years later it returned, primarily in my jaw (surgery, 30 rad and 7 more chemo. Now, 2 1/2 years later it has returned but is located in my frontal lobe. It's affected the 6th cranial nerve…
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3rd Time Around
My father-in-law's cancer has returned. This will be his 3rd time battling squamous cell carcinoma. Original diagnosis was in 2000. He underwent a radical neck disection and radiation. Cancer returned in 2015, he had a partial larengectomy, lost half of his voice box and had a PEG put in. He was able to speak really well…
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Early gum disease pre-chemo/rad: best to extract some or all teeth?
This is my first post. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this. My 54-year-old SO has base of tongue HPV+ cancer and an affected lymph node on the right side of the neck. Need to decide how many teeth to extract. Yesterday was his oral surgery consult. He has early gum disease and a mouth full of fillings. A…
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sore on lower gum in rear not healing
Hi, I am 2.5 months post 1 mega dose cisplatin and 39 rads I started last week with pain in left jaw and called ent he said no worries PET scan is on May 14th and he is confident I’m doing well might be stress pain or grinding . So the last few days pain got worse I thought maybe I had a abcess called Dentist and she…
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MILLIENIUM PHYSICIANS
I WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH SQUAMOUS CELL 4A ON LEFT SIDE OF NECK. HAVE DONE CAT, PET, 2 BIOPSIES. MUCH TO MY SURPRISE MD ANDERSON DOES NOT TAKE MEDICARE COMPLETE. MY QUESTION IS HAS ANYONE GONE TO MILLIENIUM AND THEIR OPINION OF IT? IF ANYONE IS FROM NORTH HOUSTON DID YHOU GO TO THE WOODLANDS BRANCH AND WHO WS YOUR DOCTOR?…
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How do you guys pay for it all
16 months post BOT SCC surgery and then 30 rads last February-March; I hit my out-of-pocket max ($5,900) each of the past two years and now it looks like I'm heading that way for the third year in a row. Just had a CT scan that's likely to set me back $1k, ordered by my radonc, whose appointment/endoscopy cost me nearly…
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dysphagia
10 years ago I had chemo and rads for larynx cancer, I have slowly been losing swallowing ability. Had a surgical procedure late November, swallowing was almost impossible after surgery, had to have a peg tube put in, I becysphagiame severely dehydrated and developed dysphagia. Doc says it's due to the rads. Getting…
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Patients who work out fare better!
That's what I was told by my docs/nurses, so I have embarked on a fitness quest and am on the hook for at least 16 sessions with a fitness class progam called "Orange Theory". Oh my! What did I get myself into! So I partook in a free 1-hour session last Wed and lived to tell about it. I was in a small class where most of…
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Please read... May save your life
So, we all periodically get CTs. We went into our 9 mos, feeling great to see RO and MO. All the radiation technicians, the nutritionist, many of the nurses and office staff came up to us to tell us how great he looked. You could see him floating. Backstory...stage IV right tonsil cancer, given 2 to 3 days to live ...had…
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Copd
Completed radiation Oct 1 2018 for vocal cord cancer. Stage T1 Still very fatigued..lots of mucus..coughing and very dry Now dr says I have the beginning of COPD. I'm finding I'm using the rescue inhaler more often. Has anyone else had this problem after radiation. I'm 71 yrs old and also an 18 yr survivor of stage 3…
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Biotene vs Salivea
My husband recently discovered Salivea mouthwash and mouth spray for his dry mouth. They also make a toothpaste. Laclede, the company that originally developed Biotene, sold Biotene to GSK in 2008. GSK changed the formula and many people at the time said the new formula wasn’t as effective. The non-compete expired in 2018…
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voice box cancer
Hi my name is Gerry I'm recovering from cancer of the Larynx\ voice box i have had 25 treatments of radiation finished four months ago. I'm now suffering from side effects coughing at night and excessive mucas in the throat constant spitting.. Is there anyone on here that has had the same cancer and has had radiation…
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metastasized to thyroid?
Hoooohh-kay... deep breath here... Over the past week the way my neck feels has changed pretty significantly, at first I thought it was my lymphedema but I'm beginning to think it's possible my HPV BOT cancer (surgery/dissection 12/2018, 30 rads, took 57 lymph nodes/1 was involved) metastasized to my thyroid. No swelling…
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Copd
Completed radiation Oct 1 2018 for vocal cord cancer. Stage T1 Still very fatigued..lots of mucus..coughing and very dry Now dr says I have the beginning of COPD. I'm finding I'm using the rescue inhaler more often. Has anyone else had this problem after radiation. I'm 71 yrs old and also an 18 yr survivor of stage 3…
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Getting ready for IMRT/help
Hello. I am new here and have been searching everywhere for advice. I was diagnosed almost 2 years ago w vocal chord cancer. Pre-cancer and T-1. Had several surgeries and lots of follow ups. During November 18 follow up vocals looked pretty good but they found spot on supraglottis. Had that removed and it’s also pre/T-1.…
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9 month follow-up complete
My 9 month post date technically was March 18, but today was the first day I could see all the docs/nurse practitioners on the same day. Anyway, NED all the way, and everything looks great! All healed up inside and out and no issues whatsoever. My edema is less than the double chin most guys at my weight are sporting and…
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Just diagnosed Squamous Cell Cancer on right tonsil and right lymph node(s)
Help! 48 year old, married father of 3. Otherwise healthy and fit. Driving myself crazy. Very scared. Just diagnosed with squamous on right tonsil and a 3cm x 2cm mass in neck. Pet scan isn’t until next week. Terrified. Ive had very minor symptoms that I just thought related to getting older. I’ll be 49 in June. I have…