Having a Laryngoscopy done tomorrow morning

rmkbrad

Well I went and seen the new or newer ENT doc and he has scheduled me for a scope to be done tomorrow. From his initial look he said it did not look like cancer but bad radiation burns, I said it has been almost a year since I went through radiation and he said he has seen it come up 2,3 and even up to 5 years after. Anyway he was going to have a good look around and take some biopsies under a gener local, so I will have the breathing tube down my throat. I just hope they can do something that will allow me to swallow and enjoy the please of eating again. My PEG tube works great and I have been feeling pretty dang good, bet I have this whole past year, I don't want to jinx it. But wish me luck and when I get home tomorrow I will repost with the initial finds, I will have to wait until the biopsies come back to have the whole picture.

Brad

staceya

I will be thinking of you
I will be thinking of you tomorrow and keeping you in my prayers.
Stacey

sweetblood22

Brad
I will surely be thinking of you tomorrow and extra prayers for you tonight.

Skiffin16

I'm going for residual....

My ENT also has assured me that residual will have effects for a few years off and on.

Thinking of you...

Thoughts and Prayers,
John

Pam M

Hoping for the Best
Good - hoping "initial look" was right on the money. Bad burns are not good, but I hope that's what you've got. And that they resolve themselves. Hoping you do get to start eating again soon.

rmkbrad

Scope didn't go so well.
After 3 tries and they could not get the breathing tube in the gave up,there is a lump on my epiglottis that could be a new tumor site or radiation damage from one of the two radiation treatments I had done. They did get a small sample but not enough to be comfortable with. So next is a traciotmy and then the biopsy. If the test come back as cancer then they want to remove my voice box and if it comes back as radiation damage then hyperbaric treatment. As far as the trak goes I would have to have it in for awhile and then out I guess depending on the test results. Im not going to lie, Im scarred again. Third time I have to face this thing. But this time no radiation, they have fried me all they can. Maybe some chemo the help shrink the tumor if it is a tumor. hope not.

Brad

Skiffin16

rmkbrad said:

Scope didn't go so well.
After 3 tries and they could not get the breathing tube in the gave up,there is a lump on my epiglottis that could be a new tumor site or radiation damage from one of the two radiation treatments I had done. They did get a small sample but not enough to be comfortable with. So next is a traciotmy and then the biopsy. If the test come back as cancer then they want to remove my voice box and if it comes back as radiation damage then hyperbaric treatment. As far as the trak goes I would have to have it in for awhile and then out I guess depending on the test results. Im not going to lie, Im scarred again. Third time I have to face this thing. But this time no radiation, they have fried me all they can. Maybe some chemo the help shrink the tumor if it is a tumor. hope not.

Brad

Hang in There
I'm stil praying for the lesser of complications and no bad news.....

Best,
John

longtermsurvivor

rmkbrad said:

Scope didn't go so well.
After 3 tries and they could not get the breathing tube in the gave up,there is a lump on my epiglottis that could be a new tumor site or radiation damage from one of the two radiation treatments I had done. They did get a small sample but not enough to be comfortable with. So next is a traciotmy and then the biopsy. If the test come back as cancer then they want to remove my voice box and if it comes back as radiation damage then hyperbaric treatment. As far as the trak goes I would have to have it in for awhile and then out I guess depending on the test results. Im not going to lie, Im scarred again. Third time I have to face this thing. But this time no radiation, they have fried me all they can. Maybe some chemo the help shrink the tumor if it is a tumor. hope not.

Brad

If it helps
I had a trache for awhile. It really was a painless situation. Another one of those things thatis worse to think about than it is to have. Here's wishing the best for you. I've been reading your posts for awhile now. Betting it is radiation, not CA. When is this surgery?

Best to you.

Glenna M

rmkbrad said:

Scope didn't go so well.
After 3 tries and they could not get the breathing tube in the gave up,there is a lump on my epiglottis that could be a new tumor site or radiation damage from one of the two radiation treatments I had done. They did get a small sample but not enough to be comfortable with. So next is a traciotmy and then the biopsy. If the test come back as cancer then they want to remove my voice box and if it comes back as radiation damage then hyperbaric treatment. As far as the trak goes I would have to have it in for awhile and then out I guess depending on the test results. Im not going to lie, Im scarred again. Third time I have to face this thing. But this time no radiation, they have fried me all they can. Maybe some chemo the help shrink the tumor if it is a tumor. hope not.

Brad

Brad
So sorry that you are going through all of this again. I have had a trach before also and it really wasn't that bad, at least not for short term. I'm not sure how uncomfortable or annoying it might be long term.

I will keep you in my prayers that this is just radiation burns and not another tumor!!

Stay strong,
Glenna

rmkbrad

Glenna M said:

Brad
So sorry that you are going through all of this again. I have had a trach before also and it really wasn't that bad, at least not for short term. I'm not sure how uncomfortable or annoying it might be long term.

I will keep you in my prayers that this is just radiation burns and not another tumor!!

Stay strong,
Glenna

Thanks again
I was wondering about haveing a trak for a short time, I read up on having my voice box removed and thats not really something that I am ready to sign up for. Major change in life. If it is another C Id rather try to shrink it with some chemo and see if they can do some sort of minor surgery. Anyway the wife and two younger boys moved to Idaho today, my oldest son has finals this week so he and I will follow next week, wish it was sooner I don't like being away from my family or source of strength. The VA in Salt Lake has already contacted me and made an appointment to be seen there so we can move forward with this. I really hope it is just radiation damage and a temp trak with some hyperbarek treatment to help heal is all it takes. Thanks for the support.

Brad

CaKat

rmkbrad said:

Scope didn't go so well.
After 3 tries and they could not get the breathing tube in the gave up,there is a lump on my epiglottis that could be a new tumor site or radiation damage from one of the two radiation treatments I had done. They did get a small sample but not enough to be comfortable with. So next is a traciotmy and then the biopsy. If the test come back as cancer then they want to remove my voice box and if it comes back as radiation damage then hyperbaric treatment. As far as the trak goes I would have to have it in for awhile and then out I guess depending on the test results. Im not going to lie, Im scarred again. Third time I have to face this thing. But this time no radiation, they have fried me all they can. Maybe some chemo the help shrink the tumor if it is a tumor. hope not.

Brad

Trak
Your situation IS scarey. You will make it. I had one side of my mouth rebuilt in Oct. got a trak. Kept me breathing for a week with the swelling. Base of tongue tumor back in a month. Now chemo to try to save tongue and voicebox. Track still in, for foreseeable future,
since they have trouble getting a clear line down my mangled throat for surgery.
Track is doable. Keep humidity up in your place. If you're not swallowing well, get a suction machine at home. I find that managing the saliva is a big job. Too much saliva has resulted in coughing. There is a pink cap that you can get for your trak. It's called Passy-Muir. Allows you to talk! And be patient, like we all have to be throughout, it took about 2 weeks for the trak to settle down for me, but that was right after major surgery.

denistd

CaKat said:

Trak
Your situation IS scarey. You will make it. I had one side of my mouth rebuilt in Oct. got a trak. Kept me breathing for a week with the swelling. Base of tongue tumor back in a month. Now chemo to try to save tongue and voicebox. Track still in, for foreseeable future,
since they have trouble getting a clear line down my mangled throat for surgery.
Track is doable. Keep humidity up in your place. If you're not swallowing well, get a suction machine at home. I find that managing the saliva is a big job. Too much saliva has resulted in coughing. There is a pink cap that you can get for your trak. It's called Passy-Muir. Allows you to talk! And be patient, like we all have to be throughout, it took about 2 weeks for the trak to settle down for me, but that was right after major surgery.

lary
Do not discount the laryngectomy, I have many friends and people I know that have the operation and are leading perfectly acceptable lives, some have been around a long time. One guy I know had his op in 1991 and is still working as an auto mechanic, nearly all of the lary's I know are either back at work or happily retired. Yes it is a change of normal, but very doable, a friend I know is a farmer in West Virginia, another a drummer in a band, another an IT specialist. I was a possible candidate but the doctors thought they could treat me me successfully with Chemo and Rads, that was nearly three years ago and I am well. Go to LaryngectomyLife.com and see for yourself. Denis

Hal61

rmkbrad said:

Thanks again
I was wondering about haveing a trak for a short time, I read up on having my voice box removed and thats not really something that I am ready to sign up for. Major change in life. If it is another C Id rather try to shrink it with some chemo and see if they can do some sort of minor surgery. Anyway the wife and two younger boys moved to Idaho today, my oldest son has finals this week so he and I will follow next week, wish it was sooner I don't like being away from my family or source of strength. The VA in Salt Lake has already contacted me and made an appointment to be seen there so we can move forward with this. I really hope it is just radiation damage and a temp trak with some hyperbarek treatment to help heal is all it takes. Thanks for the support.

Brad

One dragon at a time
Hi Brad,
Hoping with you and the rest that you've got some radiation damage Brad. Two rounds of rads make it a very real possibility. I'm with you on not time to sign up for voice box tampering. But, sometimes we just get recruited, and thanks to Denis for his input.

best to you bud,

Hal

sweetblood22

Brad
Sorry that scope didn't go well. Hoping that it just turns out to be burns, and they can finally get you back on track.

Pam M

sweetblood22 said:

Brad
Sorry that scope didn't go well. Hoping that it just turns out to be burns, and they can finally get you back on track.

Hoping
I'm with sweetblood and the others; really hoping you've got radiation burn issues and are not facing another round with cancer. Sorry you are dealing with more garbage. Hope things start getting much less interesting.