Pain management

dmesner

My husband had stage 4 scc lower right jaw bone. They removed that side of his jaw, replaced the bone with left leg fibula-free flap. 10/19/2022

cancer came back in cheek prior to radiation

35 radiation therapy- 7 weeks chemo - finished up first week of April

has had 2 pet scans since - NED

post treatment has been rough - has extreme type of numbness pain in jaw. Nerve damage???

he is on alot of pain meds

hoping for Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber therapy approval th help.

anyone else struggling with lots of pain???

DM - wife in perril

dmesner

Forgot to mention

2 Lymph nodes affexted, they removed 31 nodes, he also has pretty harsh Lymphedma

wbcgaruss

Hello, dmesmer, and welcome to the CSN H&N discussion board.

Your husband has been through a very major operation and had some cancer return before the start of radiation. It does seem though that the radiation has eradicated his cancer since the 2 PET Scans show NED which is wonderful news.

I am not in a pain situation but just wanted to give you a little support in saying I think you are on the right path trying something to relieve his pain so he doesn't have to be reliant on pain meds all the time by trying HBOT. HBOT helps heal and has other effects so it may well help him.

Also with the severe lymphedema, I would suggest getting him to a lymphedema specialist to get it under control and start going the other way. Usually, the lymph system over time finds other pathways to follow so eventually it may not be a problem but go away. This may relieve some pressure and alleviate some of the pain. They will give him massage treatments to get some of the lymph fluid moving out and will eventually teach him the exercises and he can do it at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5mJVNDsYfc

Here is a link to a page from cancer.net on managing pain in the meantime, maybe you can find something there to assist you...

Other Ways to Manage Pain

https://www.cancer.net/coping-with-cancer/physical-emotional-and-social-effects-cancer/managing-physical-side-effects/pain/other-ways-manage-pain

I hope you find some ways to get your husband some relief and I am sure he would love it too. Constant chronic pain wears you down for sure.

Our Motto on the H&N section is NEGU (Never Ever Give Up)

So Wishing You The Best

Take Care, God Bless

Russ

dmesner

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1711048#Comment_1711048

Thank you!

i do a lymph massage daily, we are still going ti therapy for that as well. I did get him the lymphatic pump system from Textile, he does a daily treatment on that too.

we are hoping the HBOT will change the pain to help reduce the need for meds.

kind regards to you all