Operation on 26th July/Scared now

MarineE5 said:

Take a deep breath
Good Morning Colin,

First, let me say that I'm sorry that you have to walk this path, but you have come to a good place for help with your questions. There are many people here that have travelled the same path you are about to take.

I am a Base of Tongue cancer survivor of 5yrs and 8 months currently. Yes, I can understand how you feel at the moment. In 4 days your life will be in your Doctor's hands and hopefully they will rid your body of the tumor.

Staging is a science and Stage 2 is in between, but can easily move to stage 3. Allot depends on the number and size of any Lymphnodes around your neck that might be effected.

http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/cdc/cdc_chapter5.htm

Using the information at the site I have here, you would be listed as such T2NOMO

You asked about recovery time, that is a good question, and you will see by reading some of the prior posts that each of us recover differently. Some people have very few side effects to the surgery and treatments and others have a rough time of it. I was never in any real pain, but I was uncomfortable at times.

Your path and mine are similar, it won't be a walk in the park, but you can do this. The Doctors will try to make you comfortable and help with pain meds when you need them. After the surgery, you will need to relax for a few days and then start taking short walks around your neighborhood to build your strength back up. You will need to sleep sitting up or at least in a inclined position while you have the trach.

The Radiation will follow after you are out of surgery for at least 6 weeks to allow for healing of the tissue before the treatments start. Ask your questions and we will try to answer them for you. Take a deep breath, try to think of good thoughts and you WILL get through this. The next few months will be a little bumpy and your daily routine will not be the same as it has been, but you will adjust to the new routine.

My Best to You and Everyone Here

Oh, I have a cousin that is over at the South Island of New Zealand and he just finished his radiation last week and is doing good.

micktissue said:

Breathe easy Colin
Firstly, you are not alone. You are now among an army of survivors who have been where you are: scared and lacking information. We are all here for each other.

What I find most surprising about your post is that the questions you ask, your Dr ought to have already addressed. I am shocked that these fundamental questions which could give you some context to your illness and therefore perhaps some calm, have been left to you to discover in some other way. It's shameful. I'd love the name and telephone number of your Dr so I can set him/her straight.

Your questions:

"So what does stage 2 mean?" - Breathe easy. Stage 2 cancer means that your malignancy is limited to local advancement. It means you do not have any metastasis and that, my friend, is the best news you can get. In other words they can treat it locally. You will probably avoid chemo but perhaps not radiation (and re-reading your post I see you are scheduled for radiation). I was stage 4 (out of 4) because I had metastasis in the lymph chain in my throat (not good news, prognostically speaking) and got the full Monty. I am now in recovery and have a good chance of long term, disease free survival.

"So how risky is this op, and expected recovery time?" - Again I am stunned that you don't know the answer to this - your Dr needs to be spanked. Risk is dependent on a lot of factors I cannot know, like your general health and age, for example. If you are young-ish (under 70), in reasonably good health (can climb a flight of stairs without passing out), and, perhaps most importantly, have a positive attitude, you'll do fine.

Recovery time is also context dependent. It all depends on so many factors it's a bit unreasonable for anyone other than you and your Dr to say. Are you a fighter? Do you generally recover from illness quickly? Bottom line with your questions is to get on the phone with your Drs and ask them these questions, after you chew them out.

Radiation can be difficult in cases where the tumor is unknown, compared to a known primary (like you have). The target volume for the rads will be smaller and better focused than what I got (my primary tumor, the place where the mets came from was never found, so they blasted my entire mucosa).

You might read the 'Median' essay by Stephan Gould concerning the reality of percentages and the power of a positive attitude on cancer treatment. It's a great read and inspiring. Here's the link - http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/gouldmedian.htm.

Keep us posted.

Best,

Mick

colinc1 said:

Thanks
I asked the specialist about why they made a choice to operate,it was not his decision alone, it was made be several specialists behind closed doors.

I guess that's the way it is when you are on the australian public health system, you dont get to choose your doctor, unless you have private insurance.

See you all next week sometime, am hoping to borrow my daughters laptop and get back online while in hospital.

Glenna M said:

Congrats...
Hi Colin, Happy to hear that you seem to be doing so well after surgery. I hope the rest of your recovery goes smoothly. I know you are probably anxious but don't rush things ;-)

Take care and stay strong,
Glenna