Meet Jack - WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

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  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    CivilMatt said:

    Billlie you are out there

    T,

     

    I was getting ready to eat dinner, now I am not so hungry.

     

    First your mask picture, then the cancer close-ups.  What is next on your magical mystery tour?

     

    Peace bro,

     

    Matt

    Mmm Mmm Good!

    Sorry to spoil your appetite Matt ~lol~ Don't look at the one I just posted! ;)~

    I had someone tell me the pictures of "Jack" reminded them of meatballs and they had a sudden craving for spaghetti ~lol~

    "T"

  • AJW1966
    AJW1966 Member Posts: 68
    Cool!

    I haven't been on the site for a while, still struggling with a lot of the effects post treatment. This was the first message i opened when i came back on and i'm impressed.

    The photo of the neck dissection is cool. Now i know what mine might have looked like. Just wish i could have seen the tumor. Dr says it was size of an oblong tennis ball.

    Dr's told me they don't typically photograph the surgery so i was bummed.

    Thanks for sharing!

     

    Alan

  • Eddie J
    Eddie J Member Posts: 23
    fishmanpa said:

    Mmm Mmm Good!

    Sorry to spoil your appetite Matt ~lol~ Don't look at the one I just posted! ;)~

    I had someone tell me the pictures of "Jack" reminded them of meatballs and they had a sudden craving for spaghetti ~lol~

    "T"

    hey fishmanpa same boat as you

    Did you have the surgery in Washinbton Dc VA Center a thats where i had the same surgery exactly the same as yours on Oct 14 2012

    had pet scan in Jan and some residual or recurrring in left  neck . tried to forgo rads and Chemo but now have to decide whether its worth the side effects.

    Good luck with it  My Doctors are trying to tellme they can cure this . We shall see.

  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    Eddie J said:

    hey fishmanpa same boat as you

    Did you have the surgery in Washinbton Dc VA Center a thats where i had the same surgery exactly the same as yours on Oct 14 2012

    had pet scan in Jan and some residual or recurrring in left  neck . tried to forgo rads and Chemo but now have to decide whether its worth the side effects.

    Good luck with it  My Doctors are trying to tellme they can cure this . We shall see.

    It's Worth It..

    Welcome Eddie...

    For me the chemo and rads were totally worth it.. I was STGIII SCC HPV+ Tonsils and a lymphnode. Total of sixteen weeks, four types of chemo and the 35 daily rads, after the tonsils came out.

    That was January - June 2009, all scans have been clean and clear since... I had it easier than most, tougher than a few. But it all has been totally worth it to me.

    The PET you had in January, do they know if it's residual (scarring and damage non-cancer) or cancer... With only having surgery initially (unless you had a clean scan since), I'd presume if it was cancer, it's still the original that they didn't get with surgery, not necessarily a recurrence.

    Either way, if in doubt, me personally, I'd go with the additional treatment, and I believe it is curable... There's a lot of people on here that have been around for 15+ years or more post treatment.

    Best ~ John

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    Eddie J said:

    hey fishmanpa same boat as you

    Did you have the surgery in Washinbton Dc VA Center a thats where i had the same surgery exactly the same as yours on Oct 14 2012

    had pet scan in Jan and some residual or recurrring in left  neck . tried to forgo rads and Chemo but now have to decide whether its worth the side effects.

    Good luck with it  My Doctors are trying to tellme they can cure this . We shall see.

    My boat is about to sail

    Hi Eddie,

    Welcome to the boards. I had my surgery at Johns Hopkins. I was Dx'd Tx, N2b, MO Stage IV. They never did find the primary. Docs wanted to take the cancerous tumors/lymph nodes out and as you can see from the pics, they were rather large. They feel they got it but I'm going through with the treatments to eradicate any stray cells the surgery missed. The Team is very confident they will cure this. Of course, I'll have to deal with side effects and those remain to be seen as each person reacts differently. 

    I've had a tough go at it thus far with 3 surgeries since December. Palatine tonsils removed, biopsies and laryngoscopy in Dec. Tumors removed, lingual tonsils removed and more biopsies Feb 7th and then emergency surgery to stop a bleeding tonsil bed Feb 18th. I'm just starting to turn the corner and I start treatments next week. 

    I'm ready though...been standing on the sidelines way too long. I want to get in the fight on the front lines ;)

    Let us know what you end up deciding. There are many folks here that have beat the odds. You can too! 

    "T"

  • rachel12yrsuv
    rachel12yrsuv Member Posts: 435
    WOW!
    T,

    WOW! What can u say after seeing something like this, WOW! I didn't have base of tongue cancer and never wanted to look into scope to see tumor, my Mom did, but I couldn't. I did have neck dissection so to see what it look like before the staples and scar is amazing.

    Your strentgh inspires me to everyday bury my fears away, you must be one of the bravest people I have never met,lol.
    You fight, jacks out, not get the treatments to make sure that B---- never returns!

    In my prayers, just like everyone one this site!

    Rachel
  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member

    WOW!
    T,

    WOW! What can u say after seeing something like this, WOW! I didn't have base of tongue cancer and never wanted to look into scope to see tumor, my Mom did, but I couldn't. I did have neck dissection so to see what it look like before the staples and scar is amazing.

    Your strentgh inspires me to everyday bury my fears away, you must be one of the bravest people I have never met,lol.
    You fight, jacks out, not get the treatments to make sure that B---- never returns!

    In my prayers, just like everyone one this site!

    Rachel

    Nahhh

    Hi Rachel,

    Thank you for your kind words. When I came out of retirement from performing publicly in 2009, I found that performing had taken on a whole new dimension. I was doing it because I enjoyed doing it. It wasn't "work" anymore like it was when I relied on music as my vocation. I could pick and choose the venues to play and focused in places that were "listening" rooms. No more noisy bars where everyone is drunk and no one pays attention. Been there done that!  It's been in those listening venues where I perform that I've had people come up to me afterwards and tell me how inspiring it was to see me play and sing. What a blessing it is to know a piece of music you wrote can bring a person to tears. I never thought that my words posted on a board would be inspirational but it's wonderful to know that to some they are.

    It's everyone here that post their experiences, their positive words of encouragement and prayer that inspire and encourage me! I feel as if I've been part of a nurturing Head & Neck cancer boot camp with all I've learned. I've learned there are many paths to take through the storm and how to navigate them. As I approach "T" day, I find I also have a greater sense of purpose. When I read of someone finishing their treatment, getting an NED report, celebrating a , 3, 4 or more year anniversary, it has inspired me to fight that much harder. It's made me  realize that I'm not only doing this for myself and my partner, I'm also doing it for everyone else that is facing or has faced this beast. As a "warrior", beating "Jack" is not only a victory for me, it's a victory for all who face him. 

    As far as brave?.... you ought to see me when a bee or wasp comes buzzing around me! ~lol~ 

    Positive vibes and prayers to all!

    "T"