Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of the Head and Neck Info

RadOncResident said:

Hi Kiren,

You didn't mention where you received your radiation for Hodgkin's disease, which is extremely important in light of your current diagnosis (especially if you received radiation to your neck before).

I don't know what your tumor was staged as, but in general, for more advanced lesions of the oropharynx (which is the name of the general area where the base of tongue is located), chemotherapy and radiation given together has been shown to improve survival compared to radiation alone. This is something that your doctors will discuss with you.

Good luck and hang in there. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hi thanks for taking time to reply. Well I had hodgkins before and my radiation was primariliy focused in the mediastinum(chest area). I have been seeing doctors and my doctor think I wouldn't need rad he wants to save it for future if I might need one. Right now it looks pretty good and it is not the base of the tongue sorry but lateral side of tongue. MRI of head and neck was negative, a lymph node is slightly enlarged which according to my doctors could be from the biopsy done on tongue a week before. They have to make sure though and will do a PET scan.So far they say it seems like a very small lesion only on the tongue. I hope and pray it is that way. If lymphnode is involved I would need a neck dissection, now that seems really scary to me. I am waiting for my PET scan to detrmine it and then we'll see what happens.

kiren said:

Hi thanks for taking time to reply. Well I had hodgkins before and my radiation was primariliy focused in the mediastinum(chest area). I have been seeing doctors and my doctor think I wouldn't need rad he wants to save it for future if I might need one. Right now it looks pretty good and it is not the base of the tongue sorry but lateral side of tongue. MRI of head and neck was negative, a lymph node is slightly enlarged which according to my doctors could be from the biopsy done on tongue a week before. They have to make sure though and will do a PET scan.So far they say it seems like a very small lesion only on the tongue. I hope and pray it is that way. If lymphnode is involved I would need a neck dissection, now that seems really scary to me. I am waiting for my PET scan to detrmine it and then we'll see what happens.

Hi kiren,

From reading your post, I agree w/ the management plan that your doctor has chosen.
A PET scan can be very helpful in determining what the extent of your disease is, though it sounds like your tumor is in the very early stages.

A Neck dissection sounds really scary, but I have seen so many patients who are doing really well after receiving it, w/ only a hint of a scar. If it does in the end come down to a neck dissection, try to talk to a few patients who have undergone the procedure so you have at least a rough idea of what to expect.

Good luck,

ballonk said:

I had a new form of radiation called IMRT. I had 30 treatments from Oct - Dec 03. I began experiencing side effects about 3 weeks into radiation. My voice became weaker, I developed mouth ulcers, a very sore throat, dry mouth, altered taste and loss of appetite, had some hair loss (which has since grown back), and suffered from fatigue. While this may sound daunting, overall it was not bad. Towards the end of treatment, I had some burns to my neck which responded well to medication and ointments. My voice is back to normal and I am feeling very good and eating well. I did develop a cough after radiation which I've been told is normal and it's now almost gone. I used Lortab Elixer during radiation for sore throat pain and that enabled me to be able to eat. It's important to try to maintain proper nutrition; especially during this time in order to heal properly. Actually, I tolerated the radiation so well that the hospital asked me to film a commercial for their cancer center; which I did in March 04 and it is now airing on our local TV stations. Here's a web link that will provide more info on IMRT:
http://www.brachytherapy.com/IMRT.html.

There are several types of radiation so I'd recommend you discuss further with your doctor. In my case, since this was my second reoccurrance with SCC, I opted to try to increase my survival chances by accepting the radiation treatments.

Good luck; I hope this info helps!

I was diagnosed with SCC in late August 2004. I was refered to MD Anderson for surgery that was performed on Sept. 29th. They removed 30% of the left side of my tougue and did a partial neck disection to remove lymph nodes. The pathology report was very good in that there was no detectable cancer present in the tissue around the leision. It was determined however, the leision had intruded dangerously close to nerve tissue and as a result, radiation therapy was deemed necessary. I then proceeded to undergo six weeks of IMRT radiation. It was a real effort to complete. At the 20th or so treatment I was ready to give up. My mouth was a raw mess along a total loss of appetite and taste. As a result I lost 45 pounds (25 of that I needed to lose). At any rate, my biggest problem has been a loss of caloric intake. I'm currently working on my 3rd week since my last treatment and no sign of my taste. Do you or any one else have a clue when the taste function might return? I've been told any where from a week to six weeks.

Montreal67 said:

And today?

I noticed that this is quite an old post (2004).  How are you doing today?  I hope you are well and thriving!!!!

My husband had scc of the nasal cavity that was first treated with radiation (Curie therapy) which worked for about 2 months, then came back with a vengeance.  2 months ago he had a radical surgery that involved removing his nose completely, a portion of his maxillary bone and the lower eyelid, as well as other surrounding tissue and bone.  The scans all showed that the cancer had not spread to his lymph nodes or any other parts of his body, but the tumor had eroded the skin, invaded the septum and touched the bone. Its considered a stage 4, moderately differentiated aggressive tumor but the biggest surprise of all was on the pathology report which found there were 2 distinct tumors.  

 

I've been reading up on synchronous and metachronous tumors and field cancerization and it really makes me nervous, especially in light of the fact that his disease is considered a localized advanced tumor.  The 1cm margins came back clear and he is healing very well so the oncologists seem cautiously optimistic but are really reluctant to talk prognosis.  Any thoughts?

 

 

sometimes

Montreal67,

You are correct, this is a very old thread, but ballonk was on line April 14, 2016 so it just goes to show you can  never tell.  Chances are she will read your thread.

“cautiously optimistic” sounds good in our world.

I wish you well.

Matt