Start radiation even if tongue is not healed?

Sam999
Sam999 Member Posts: 319 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I am scheduled to start radiation in one week, may 14th. My tongue is still not healed completely from the tumor removal surgery, did anyone start radiation before the tongue healed? My doc thinks it is okay to start but i am concerned.

It is almost healed but it is still sore as not all the stiches are out.

Thanks,
Sam

Comments

  • ooo
    ooo Member Posts: 105
    #2
    Hi Sam,
    I started my IMRT

    Hi Sam,

    I started my IMRT treatment 7 weeks after surgery, but I do remember my surgeon telling me that I was ready for rads 4 weeks after the operation (I too had some stitches still in at that time). I didn't start earlier only because I wanted to hear different opinions and decide about how to proceed in my treatment, but if the doctors say you're ready I would follow their advice. There's a paper out there which claims that starting early with rads gives a measurably better outcome in terms of survival.

    Dre.
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #3
    ooo said:

    Hi Sam,
    I started my IMRT

    Hi Sam,

    I started my IMRT treatment 7 weeks after surgery, but I do remember my surgeon telling me that I was ready for rads 4 weeks after the operation (I too had some stitches still in at that time). I didn't start earlier only because I wanted to hear different opinions and decide about how to proceed in my treatment, but if the doctors say you're ready I would follow their advice. There's a paper out there which claims that starting early with rads gives a measurably better outcome in terms of survival.

    Dre.

    I'm with Dre on this one.
    I didn't have tongue surgery, but they did remove my tonsils and cut some chunks out of my tongue to biopsy. I started my chemo and radiation four weeks later. Didn't have any healinig issues.

    Deb
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #4
    Hi Sam
    in most cases, even two weeks is enough. Things don't stop healing, though they do slow down.

    Pat
  • Sam999
    Sam999 Member Posts: 319 Member
    #5
    longtermsurvivor said:

    Hi Sam
    in most cases, even two weeks is enough. Things don't stop healing, though they do slow down.

    Pat

    Ok got it. Thanks so much
    Ok got it. Thanks so much for the replies. There is so much anxiety and hearing from people who are/have gone thru this helps.
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #6
    Sam999 said:

    Ok got it. Thanks so much
    Ok got it. Thanks so much for the replies. There is so much anxiety and hearing from people who are/have gone thru this helps.

    true, that
    I remember waiting the two or three weeks between my radical neck disection and the start of rads. Thinking that the cancer was growing, and spreading. It drove me nuts. I thought about it all day, every day. I dreamed about it. I asked if my rads could be moved up. It made me a basket case. But none of my worries came to pass. They cured me anyway. It is hard, because your mind can play games with you no matter what the scenario. at least mine did.


    Pat

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