May choose not to do chemo.

jkinobay

victor53 said:

i had surgery after and i
i had surgery after and i am doing great. I asked for it i wanted everything cleaned out and tested.
My case was very advanced so i couldnt do surgery first . I was misdiagnosed they thought i had tuberculosus lymphendentis
so 6 months later my lymphnode was the size of a lemon by the time they correctly diagnosed the cancer.
So it was to advanced for surgery so we did 2 months induction chemo then 2 months chemo and radiation , Then the surgery was an option i went for it because i wanted everything cleaned out and tested. After going thru the radiation i figured a little while longer feeling like crap wouldnt be bad . And it wasnt bad 3 or 4 days in the hospital and a couple weeks being gentle with it.

How about healing afterwards?
Did they do anything special to promote healing taking into consideration the radiated tissue? Did you heal "normally"?

Just curious.

victor53

jkinobay said:

How about healing afterwards?
Did they do anything special to promote healing taking into consideration the radiated tissue? Did you heal "normally"?

Just curious.

yes everything went normal
yes everything went normal no special treatment i think drains were removed on 3rd day and 4th i was checked out and home. And if i keep my chin pointed down a little you cant even notice, that half my neck was cut out. I think it was like 50 or 70 lymphnodes.
The plan was to put me under go in and take biopsies of the tonsil area where that tumor was then test them right there and then and if negative( which they were) then continue with the radical neck dissection. Then all the material taken out of my neck was tested and it all came back negative for any cancer. When they told me we got good news nothing active everything tested was negitive boy that was worth the operation hearing that. After 2 months of induction chemo and 2 months of radiation and chemo the operation was a piece of cake. I didnt have any real problems with the induction chemo or the first couple of weeks of radiation weeks 4 thru 7 of radiation and the month after sucked big time. It wasnt too bad thou i dosed my self pretty heavey with morphine er and the liquid oxycodone i attempted a self indusced suspended animation. It was about 2 months after radiation ended that i had the operation.

AppraiserGirl

jkinobay said:

Surgery after Rads??
Everyone's case is of course very different. But, it could be that your conflicting info about possible surgery is related to what I was told, that once a patient has received the lifetime dose of radiation to the neck/throat area that future surgery, should it become necessary, is very difficult due to the compromised tissue and a drastically reduced ability to heal. That's what I was told. Fortunately my cancer has not come back and I hope it never does. But they (Chemo Oncol, Rad Oncol, ENT) told me that if it did reoccur in the neck area that additional Chemo would likely be the only option.

Best to Bro. He's a trooper and so very lucky to have your support.

He'll do well.

JK

Surgery
Thanks you guys. I'll keep you posted as things progress.

pmfennell

AppraiserGirl said:

Risky Decision
Thanks JK for the positive feedback. I am hopeful the radiation will do the trick. I don't know about surgery later, the radiation oncologist at the beginning said yes and later the oncology RN said no. Conflicting information! Something I will need to keep on top of as the weeks go by. Brother has completed 11 of 40 treatments. Should be 12 but machine was down one of the days.

Thanks again and I'm thinking of you and all those great people who are on this website providing their information and experiences. I don't have the words to say how much it helps to know there are people out there who have been through what your loved one is going through and that there is light and life at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks so much!!

Risky Decision
Hello,

I am a 6+ year survivor of HNC and remain cancer free. It was at the base of my tongue with 3 lymph nodes involved. I decided not to have the radical neck dissection after much research. I did however have the Chemo, Rad, and surgery to remove the involved ,lymph nodes. I was never sick from the Chemo, I had some hair loss and had to stay out of direct sunlight for a while. The meds they have to combat the side effects of Chemo today are great. Yes, Chemo hits all the cells in your body, but you must throw everything you can at it to defeat this disease. It sounds like you and your sister have done your best to convince your brother to see a Med. Oncologist, but he has made his decision. Looking back on my situation I had more difficulty with the Radiation then I did with the Chemo. Take care and God bless you for all you have and are doing for your brother.

AppraiserGirl

pmfennell said:

Risky Decision
Hello,

I am a 6+ year survivor of HNC and remain cancer free. It was at the base of my tongue with 3 lymph nodes involved. I decided not to have the radical neck dissection after much research. I did however have the Chemo, Rad, and surgery to remove the involved ,lymph nodes. I was never sick from the Chemo, I had some hair loss and had to stay out of direct sunlight for a while. The meds they have to combat the side effects of Chemo today are great. Yes, Chemo hits all the cells in your body, but you must throw everything you can at it to defeat this disease. It sounds like you and your sister have done your best to convince your brother to see a Med. Oncologist, but he has made his decision. Looking back on my situation I had more difficulty with the Radiation then I did with the Chemo. Take care and God bless you for all you have and are doing for your brother.

Surgery?
Thanks PM for your kind thoughts and useful info. I've heard from others that chemo is less difficult than radiation.

I guess I need to read up on radical neck dissection. I thought it was removal of the affected lymph node or nodes. The surgery question is still up in the air and I don't know if brother will do it. It's a "cross that bridge when we come to it" kinda thing and of course we will have to respect brother's decision. If it were me, I would do everything I could to get rid of the cancer and hope it never returned, but that's me not him. My sister and I are there when he needs us and we will do whatever we can to help him.

Thanks again and I'm thinking of you and all the other courageous folks on this site who are either still going through treatment or are finished and are there for us to learn from.