HNC- Carcinoma at right Upper Alveolus

NSSTG3
NSSTG3 Member Posts: 2
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Seven days back , through series of tests.i have found out that i have a malignant tumor.
Initial indication was a gland swelling below the right side end of the jaw.The gland swelling has been initally observed in Jan2012 and consulted an ENT who prescribed some antibiotics. The swelling again increased by Aug/Sep 2012 and i underwent endoscopy,Neck CT, FNAC tests to come to aconclusion that the tumor is a malignant one on Sunday, 15th Oct2012.
On Monday (16th), an surgical oncologist advised bunch of tests including PETCT scan which identified the problem as Carcinoma Righty upper alveolus wiith multiple metted right cervical and staged as 3. The glands affected are Sub mandibular and submental with tumor size less than 4 cm.

I am 79 years old and Doctor suggested me that 5 weeks of radiation followed by surgery. This week , i am consulting a dentist for dental extractions.

Is there any member who had the same problem?

Like any other patient am anxious to start the treatment. I was told that the spread will be slow and it can be controlled once the treatment starts.

Am eager to know about the link between the preparation time for treatment and spread of the disease during RT by travelling to clinic from home.

Can any one with similar kind of status advise me more

Comments

  • ditto1
    ditto1 Member Posts: 660
    #2
    Welcome
    sorry you had to find us but since you did you will be glad, its a great site for help, information, and just plain good folks. I was dx with Base of Tongue Stage 4, multiple lympnodes in March 2012. Did not start treatments until May so I to wondered if the cancer was to far ahead in this race of life and death. No it was not, I had 33 Radiation treatments and 2 Cisplatin chemos and 9 Erbitux. It was a rough journey at times but doable. Now Im roughly 10 weeks post tx and my CT scan and Docs see NED (no evidence of disease) for now and hopefully forever. I will have a PET scan in December and as all of us will tell you each scan has its own degree of anxiety attached. But to rap up, hope this helped a little and the clock is not your enemy now that you are on your way. You will soon see good folks offering there stories and welcoming you to the family. Doug
  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #3
    ditto1 said:

    Welcome
    sorry you had to find us but since you did you will be glad, its a great site for help, information, and just plain good folks. I was dx with Base of Tongue Stage 4, multiple lympnodes in March 2012. Did not start treatments until May so I to wondered if the cancer was to far ahead in this race of life and death. No it was not, I had 33 Radiation treatments and 2 Cisplatin chemos and 9 Erbitux. It was a rough journey at times but doable. Now Im roughly 10 weeks post tx and my CT scan and Docs see NED (no evidence of disease) for now and hopefully forever. I will have a PET scan in December and as all of us will tell you each scan has its own degree of anxiety attached. But to rap up, hope this helped a little and the clock is not your enemy now that you are on your way. You will soon see good folks offering there stories and welcoming you to the family. Doug

    Dental extractions
    My cancer was in lower (mandible) jawbone. I had my surgery in January and most of my lower teeth were extracted during that surgery. My dentist had to remove old silver fillings and replace them before radiation tx started. Know that head and neck radiation is one of the most difficult but it is doable. You should be aware of the side effects but know that you will likely not get all of them and those you do get will be in different degrees. I finished rad/chemo in Mid-May. My surgeon said no dental work (implants) could begin until 6 months after my last tx. That will be Mid-Nov. and i will have to go in a hyper baric pressure chamber first. My lower jaw as replaced with the fibula from my leg and titanium. I have had a CT scan with contrast and a PET scan, both show no evidence of cancer :-) I pray you have an easy journey.
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #4
    Mos of us have had the fear...
    that the cancer is growing leaps and bounds in the time it took us to progress from anti-biotics to an actual diagnosis...I was fit to be tied...all this waiting around for things to start moving had me thinking that the cancer wsa getting a huge head start. But like with most everybody here, that's not the case.

    Once things start moving, you'll be wishing you could just stay home for a bit and reflect/sleep....do something other than "off to rads everyday"...

    Waiting is the hardest part of this whole thing...at least mentally.

    p
  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    #5
    Alot of anxiety
    Hey there !
    Sorry to hear about your dx. But you have come to a wonderful site, with alot of wonderful caring people on it . I'm kinda impressed your drs. are doing the steps to get you ready for treatments...with precission. I know it is a crazy ride we're on...and we all worry if their going too slow and that the cancer is going to spread very fast. I have ACC (submandiblar gland tumor was around the size of an egg.) I too have a very slow growing dx...and I believe that any and all questions you have write down, and get the answers you need to be as comfortable with first your dx...so you understand it....secondly why the steps of each and every treatment you need, and why you need them. The only dumb question is the one unasked. Please keep us posted through out, and will be thinking only positive outcome for you ! Katie
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #6
    Hurry Up and Wait
    Chiming in - another member of the "if I don't start treatment RIGHT NOW, am I hurting my chances of survival?" club - I, too, was concerned about the time between finding the cancer, and starting treatment. My doc said I had some time to spare, but did need to start treatment sooner rather than later (the holdup in my case was me - trying to decide which team to go with). (Sooner being one month after the diagnosis of stage four base of tongue cancer with 2 lymph nodes involved.) I am also a member of Club NED now.

    Do well, and keep us posted.
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #7
    the run up to treatments
    NSSTG3,

    I did not have the same exact cancer, but my tongue and neck are better for treatments. The cancer most likely will not grow much while you wait for treatments to begin. Once treatments begin the rads and chemo will hopefully rid you of this invader for ever. Believe me, time may pass slowly right now, but it will soon speed up.

    Best,

    Matt
  • NSSTG3
    NSSTG3 Member Posts: 2
    #8
    Pam M said:

    Hurry Up and Wait
    Chiming in - another member of the "if I don't start treatment RIGHT NOW, am I hurting my chances of survival?" club - I, too, was concerned about the time between finding the cancer, and starting treatment. My doc said I had some time to spare, but did need to start treatment sooner rather than later (the holdup in my case was me - trying to decide which team to go with). (Sooner being one month after the diagnosis of stage four base of tongue cancer with 2 lymph nodes involved.) I am also a member of Club NED now.

    Do well, and keep us posted.

    Thanks to all
    Thanks a lot for your feedback to my post.

    Dental extractions completed without much pain. I was given antibiotics and pain killers a day prior to Dental extraction. So the dental extraction was painless.

    Next day the team took CT scan for planning the radiation and my RT started from 31st Oct , seven days after the dental. So far three days of treatment over.
    Considering my diabetic condition, my family members have prepared a low calorie high protein diet regular diabetic diet and certain supplimentary drinks.
    But for tiredness i dont feel any other symptoms so far.
    I will keep posting about my experience and my feelings
  • Tim6003
    Tim6003 Member Posts: 1,514 Member
    #9
    NSSTG3 said:

    Thanks to all
    Thanks a lot for your feedback to my post.

    Dental extractions completed without much pain. I was given antibiotics and pain killers a day prior to Dental extraction. So the dental extraction was painless.

    Next day the team took CT scan for planning the radiation and my RT started from 31st Oct , seven days after the dental. So far three days of treatment over.
    Considering my diabetic condition, my family members have prepared a low calorie high protein diet regular diabetic diet and certain supplimentary drinks.
    But for tiredness i dont feel any other symptoms so far.
    I will keep posting about my experience and my feelings

    Sorry I missed your initial post ...
    Sorry too you had to join our club .....but you found a great bunch of folks here.

    First, I am no doctor...so if I have something wrong, our board friends will correct me.

    When your biopsy was done, they should be able to tell if your cancer type was slow, medium or fast growing .....I would think that would be a fair question to ask of them...and I'm also sure they would move accordingly.

    Is your cancer HPV+?? Ask if it is and find out if you wish.

    I was diangnosed (dx) with base of tongue (BOT) stabe III HPV+. I underwent Erbitux (a form of chemo) 6 times and radiation for 7 weeks. I did not have surgery.

    Were you offered a feeding tube? If not, you may want to inquire about one. I had a feeding tube placed into my stomach wall before my treatments began....I lost 70lbs during treatment...some people on the board did not have a feeding tube and did fine, others did not havea feeding tube and had to get one placed at some point during treatments and still others (like me) had a feeding tube at the start. With your diabetic contidtion and knowing food intake / maint is going to be crucial to your well being ....you might want to consider getting a feeding tube (opinion alert) ....I'm a big fan of having the tube in place before treatments began because it is an insurance policy IF feeding / eatingg becomes a problem.

    Be sure also to check out www.oralcancerfoundation.org they also have some great info and articles on head and neck (H&N) cancers.

    Whispered a prayer all goes well and you have a speedy recovery. It will most likely (everybody is different) get harder...but in the end you will be well and looking back and saying I beat cancer!!

    Best,

    Tim

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