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Head and Neck Cancer

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?
Post radiation swish
Hi everyone, My husband is 2 weeks post radiation tomorrow. He hasn't needed the magic mouthwash in a couple days and had his 1st non liquid food in over a month yeaterday (scrambled eggs). He gets extremely tired and sleepy after eating and needs a nap. Is this normal? He doesn't have a tube so he's ready to eat! Also how…
Six Weeks post treatment update
I've been pretty absent from the forums during my recovery, but I'm trying to catch up with everyone now. Looks like some new folks have joined the club since I last logged on. I'm a little over six weeks past my last radiation. The first few weeks of recovery were the roughest in terms of mucus, nausea, and finding it…
PET SCAN AND CT
My husband has H & N cancer, right base of tongue, right tonsil, 4 lymph nodes on right, and hyoidal bone (right side)...He is in a trial . He is only 6 weeks into the 16 weeks of treatment and the study calls for a PET and CT after the 6th week of chemo. I do not know what to expect. I'm so nervous. His tumor has clearly…
Infusion port clot
When I was in treatment I had an infusion port (Port Cath) that, once rads were complete, caused a clot in my right jugular. I spent two weeks on self injecting Lovenox, and then 3 more months on Warfrin to resolve the clot which was successful - though my medical oncologist had originally said that I might need to be on…
Ending week #2 of rads & chemo. Already have grade 2 sores.
Week #2 ends tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be able to say "10 treatments down, 22 to go." It could be the addition of once-weekly chemo, which I am told magnifies the radiation side effects, but I have already developed grade 2 mouth sores on the target site (upper gums, left side, back). Today my rad. onc. confirmed it when…
Lymph nodes in my neck are painfull
went to my ent on Monday to get the results of my pet scan . Results where negative for the primary , only showed the secondary in the lymph nodes I'm the left side of my neck. So exploratory operation to have a closer look at the base of my tongue and other areas was put on the waiting list. Tuesday a got a call that I…
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…
13 month post treatment CT, two small pulmonary nodules
I'm 53 non smoker. March, 2015, I was diagnosed with Stage IV HPV 16+ squamous cell tumor on left tonsil and one lymph node under left jawbone. I had TORS to remove tumor, tonsil and clear margins, then a neck dissection to remove 40 lymph nodes that were all cancer free. I then had 28 tomotherapy radition treatments.…
My 1st Erbitux went well, but I am not well.
I had my first Erbitux treatment forf 2 hours on Thursday 9/22 late PM. I have only a few minor side effetcs, but they are making making life miserable to me. On thursday night woke up several times due to a horriblle headache & queasy stomach. Finally around 4 AM, I took 1000 mg of tylenol & it reduced the horriblle…
Last Rad Tomorrow
My husbands last radiation treatment is tomorrow. He's managed but it sure hasn't been easy. His cancer was in his upper left cheek and jaw area. This past week his tongue is causing major pain. It does t look to be thrush as its only his tongue. Question is: normal pain or sores from radiation? Anything help besides pain…
radiation induced brachial plexopathy
I am now 63 years old. I had oral cancer, and was treated with Cisplatin and radiation. They beat me up pretty good, and I have several residual issues but the cancer is gone. About three months after my last treatment, I started getting numbness and tingling in my finger tips. It spread within a month or so all the way up…
Cutting through the Mucus/Flem
In my last post I was explaining that we have completed tx and our instructions were to start swallowing food and drink without the use of the PEG. Because the mouth seems so sore, it's been rather difficult to start this transformation. As I'm trying to help encourage my loved one that he must do this, I've been watching…
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…
Help with mucous patch
My husband is really struggling with the mucous. Making him throw up, nauseous, spitting up blood. He is considering the patch to dry him up. Any advice on the patch?
done!
I had been posting weekly on hubby's journey, which was going well until week 5 when he developed the dreaded fever of more than 100.4. This resulted in a four day stay in the hospital and then a slight nose dive. I am not sure I would recommend being admitted to a teaching hospital again. There was a great deal of…
Mouth sore
I am 8 months post treatment. Have had 2 clear scans and one visual exam a few weeks ago. I still have issues with thrush. I have notices a small white mark at the back of my tongue where it meets my gum. Right in the corner. It almost looks like a crack in the corner of your mouth you get when you have thrush. It's white,…
Skin issues long after treatment
hello everyone. It has been over 18 months since surgery (base of tongue and both sides of neck), radiation and chemo. I have an interesting issue with my skin still so long out. The skin above the surgery cuts seems ok but below the cut is sensitive, gets rashes etc. I have limited feel above the cut but full feeling…
Change in Mental status
I am the caregiver for my 70 year old husband. Been through 33 radiation and 3 chemo cisplatin in April. Had one adjuvant cisplatin 5FU July 25. Had complication of acute renal failure in April that resolved. On Prozac for depression. Still has bouts of nausea vomiting due to mucus or some unknown. Has been treated for…
Intro and radiation time
Hi all. I'm a 47 yo male. I was diagnosed in early August via a FNA of a left 4.6cm node which revealed SCC (p16+). No visual of the primary was found via several (awake) scoping attempts. PET and MRI seem to indicate a small-ish primary on the left tonsil, but everyone across multiple teams at multiple hospitals had…
Newly Diagnosed and Confused About Scans
Hi, all. This is my first post but I have been reading for the past week or so and I really appreciate the information and advice you all have been generous enough to share. I'll try to keep this brief. I have been diagnosed with SCC of the soft palate/throat. I had CT scans done, which the doctor said showed no spread to…
White patches inside my mouth. Is it the Decadron?
Hello, good people! This morning, I found white patches on the left, upper side of my mouth (where the tumor was removed and where they are focusing the rads). This past week was my first week of rads, and I had my first chemo on Monday. They gave me 3 anti-nausea meds to take. Decadron was one of them. It's a steroid, so…
Are my Oncologists Too relaxed?
Hello all: 1) I was diagnosed with Cancer at Base of Tongue stage 4b HPV+, on 8/22/16. My medical oncologist just stated that "I may want to see my dentist." on 8/22. I saw my Radiation Oncologist on 9/15/16 and he told me see your dentist ASAP and ask him to extract only those teeth that are hopeless. I asked him how…
Caretaker Advice
My husband has 9 more rads and 1 chemo left! I have been able to work other than days off for appts with Doctors and the chemo infusion days. We have a supportive family and a daughter that is a nurse, so I feel that he has been well taken care of. However, based on the wonderful advice on this forum I am trying to plan…
Catch 22 Need advice ASAP
Hello all, I have a dilema and will appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation: My swollen left neck lymph node appear on July 16, 2016, followed by the right on the 25th. I had a PET CT scan on 8/17/16 and was diagnosed with H&N cancer stage 4b HPV+, primary : base of tongue. Yesterday 9/15/16 I had…
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!…
My Catch 22 and Advice ASAP
Thanks for all the great advice that other people on this group have given to me. The shorter version of it is that: 1) I have had CT scan, needle biopsy of lymph node, Pet CT scan (8/17), MRI and Biopsy at the base of the tongue (8/30/16) 2) Based on this my Medical & Rad ocologist have both said I am at stage 4b, even…
Vocal chord cancer
My husband has been diagnosed with vocal chord cancer - he doesnt know which treatment would be the best for him - surgery or radiation - he is in the very early stages. Does anyone have any info on either treatment?
Arnicare Gel for Throat Post-treatment
Me Again with a Suggestion you CAN get. 2 wks ago was cleaning out my Medical Supply Cabinet. Low and behold found an old tube of Arnica that both my husband & I used from eye surgeries 8 years ago. It really helped with the swelling, pain, and reduced the back eyes dramatically. I can't believe I forgot about this All…
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…

Head and Neck Cancer

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