Hi 3LB,

I understand totally your fear. Been there, done that and yes it does sound ominous, BUT... until you hear the words from your ENT's mouth it's not official. 

Now... concerning work? I don't know of anyone that's been able to work the entire time. I tried working remotely but from about the third week on until 5 weeks post treatment I was down for the count. To answer your question, "No", you won't be able to work through treatment.

Here's the thing. IF this is cancer, your life is WAY more important than a job. When I got sick I wanted to stay local and work as long as I could but it became quite evident that wasn't going to be the case. I was away from home 5 days a week getting treatment and like I said, down for the count early on in treatment. I was fortunate that my boss kept my seat warm and was THRILLED to have me back. 

Hang in there and remember... until you hear the words from yor ENT's mouth, it's not official!

Positive thoughts and prayers. 

"T"

Threelittlebirds,

 Shaking like a leaf sounds about right, but until it is 99.9% official, it is not.  There are all kinds of things it could be with each being curable and treated differently.  I held out hope till the last moment.  All I can recommend is to stay calm and to call your ENT and tell them you can come in immediately if there is a canceled appointment (always works for me).

As for work and provided you garner a boarding pass to the bus, chances are, working would be difficult.  Especially, if you required a Lorazapam like I did.  If you can secure this position (new job) for six months from now, it will work in your favor.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, nothing has been confirmed and I am still holding out it is minor, whatever it is.

Matt

Threelittlebirds said:

Thank you

It is hard to remain composed.  I have had the gut feeling and I am also quite upset because I had told him about the new job prior to the biopsy and when he came to see me in the recovery room, he said he was 95% sure I had nothing and that I sould take the new job, that he was not worried at all.  He said the only reason he could not say 100% was that he was not allowed.

It is weird that my ear and throat pain have been gone for the pas 5 days now...does cancer pain come and go ?  I am so confused.

This new job has been highly publicised, it was in all the Ottawa newspaper last week, radio and tv.  I should not have trusted him and should have waited for the biopsy results, but I put my faith in him and since he's been doing this for a long time....

I can just imagine what the media will be talking about next week ... 

3LB

Pain from cancer typically doesn't come and go. Once you start hurting, you generally continue to hurt. Many don't have any pain at all initially. I had swollen glands on the left side of my neck that didn't respond to antibiotics and no pain until just before my neck dissection and even then, it was more pressure than pain as the tumors were pressing against structures in my neck and ear area. I had no issues swallowing, ear or throat pain. I had the swollen glands for 8 months before I felt anything. 

For your ENT to say he was 95% sure you'd be fine even after the biopsy is actually pretty encouraging and I would hang onto that one with both hands. There are many other things this could be besides cancer. I would do as Matt said and call back and see if you can get squeezed in before Wednesday if someone cancels.

Now here ya go... a GREAT version of Greg Allman doing "Come and Go Blues" to distract you. I love the little fo pah at 4:00 ~lol~

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st-auwQ0xX0

"T"
 

TLB,

first of all I hope your appointment goes well, as others have said wait for the results, not easy and the time seems to creep by ever so slow. As for working thru your in treatment , you need to take into consideration the treatment protocal your Dr's may put you into , chemo & rads , or just one or the other. I had chemo , 3 drugs every 21 days , then following that radiation for 7 1/2 weeks plus 1 day of chemo...that was in 2011. I was fortunate on several levels; I never got sick thru any of it,, but we are all different in how our bodies react to the treatments, and I work for a company who allowed me to work from home. I did this all thru treatments and then for 7 months after they stopped. I've been cancer free for the last 19 months. Keep a good attitude, be proactive in asking questions, keep a list of questions, if you have someone to go to appoinments with you take them along.

Prayers and blessing ....

Linda