Jawbone and hole in face

Buddy1020
Buddy1020 Member Posts: 5
edited March 2014 in Rare and Other Cancers #1
I'm so scared. I'm having Surgery this coming Tuesday December 21st at MUSC Charleston, SC. Facial Reconstruction. This will be my 2nd one... I got Cancer 3 years ago and it ate a pure hold through my face and part of my bottom lip. In fact when I had the 1st reconstruction, they had to cut off the right half of my bottom lip. Well almost a year to the date the cancer returned (although they told me I was cancer free-NOT!) I went through the 36 radiation, no luck, now it's eaten an even bigger hole in the exact same spot and my right side jawbone has deteriorated horrible. Tuesday. They're taking my jawbone out, reconstructing using bone from my right arm.. Sorry, I'm crying so hard right now. Thanks for listening.

Comments

  • Cindy Bear
    Cindy Bear Member Posts: 569
    #2
    Hi Buddy
    Hi Buddy. I am so sorry you have to be here. Of course you're scared, who wouldn't be. Surgery is scary, cancer is scary. Just know that you have friends and support here and We will be thinking of you and praying for you on the 21st.
    Good luck and please update when you can.
  • Buddy1020
    Buddy1020 Member Posts: 5
    #3
    Cindy Bear said:

    Hi Buddy
    Hi Buddy. I am so sorry you have to be here. Of course you're scared, who wouldn't be. Surgery is scary, cancer is scary. Just know that you have friends and support here and We will be thinking of you and praying for you on the 21st.
    Good luck and please update when you can.

    Tomorrow's Surgery
    Cindy Bear, Thank you so much for your words. They do make a difference. I don't know if I'm more scared of the results or IF I'm going to die during surgery. I have struggled with if there is a God / Jesus or not for quite some time. About 4 years now and it too has made a difference in my brain...Not necessarily a good one either, but I just don't know anymore. Religion I know is a touchy subject.. so perhaps I should shut up right now, but Thank you again SO MUCH!!!!

    Buddy1020 1020's my birthday... You can just wonder about the year.. ha ha.
  • 3Mana
    3Mana Member Posts: 811
    #4
    Buddy1020 said:

    Tomorrow's Surgery
    Cindy Bear, Thank you so much for your words. They do make a difference. I don't know if I'm more scared of the results or IF I'm going to die during surgery. I have struggled with if there is a God / Jesus or not for quite some time. About 4 years now and it too has made a difference in my brain...Not necessarily a good one either, but I just don't know anymore. Religion I know is a touchy subject.. so perhaps I should shut up right now, but Thank you again SO MUCH!!!!

    Buddy1020 1020's my birthday... You can just wonder about the year.. ha ha.

    Good luck Buddy
    Hi Buddy,
    Just checking in on this site & saw your post. So sorry you've had to go through so much. Cancer sucks! I lost my husband in March from Lung cancer. I sure hope your surgery goes good and hope 2011 is a good year for you. Hope you have a Merry Christmas! Take care!
    "Carole"
  • Cindy Bear
    Cindy Bear Member Posts: 569
    #5
    Buddy
    Wondering how things went and thinking about you today.... and hoping and praying for good results.. I totally understand about faith and questioning and really struggling to believe.. I have been down that path myself.. and I understand. I think you will find kind, caring, loving people here who have all wrestled with these thoughts.. As another poster said to me, after my mom passed away (uterine cancer) , "You must have very strong faith to be so angry at God." That floored me, really stopped me in my tracks. Anyhow, I am waiting to hear good news.. you will pull thru this.. have faith in yourself..
    Hugs,
    Cindy
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #6
    Cindy Bear said:

    Buddy
    Wondering how things went and thinking about you today.... and hoping and praying for good results.. I totally understand about faith and questioning and really struggling to believe.. I have been down that path myself.. and I understand. I think you will find kind, caring, loving people here who have all wrestled with these thoughts.. As another poster said to me, after my mom passed away (uterine cancer) , "You must have very strong faith to be so angry at God." That floored me, really stopped me in my tracks. Anyhow, I am waiting to hear good news.. you will pull thru this.. have faith in yourself..
    Hugs,
    Cindy

    Hi Buddy
    I hope all went well with your surgery today and just to let you know you are not alone my friend, we are all afraid sometimes as we know not what tomorrow will bring. I had NPC Cancer 3 times. Not sure why and not sure if 3 will be my last time, but this I do know. I would rather die believing that there is a God then to die having no hope at all. I am alive but nothing of what I once was, there are a lot of people out there who I have been able to help through there journey with cancer. If I would have never had cancer I would have never meet them or been able to help. Maybe that is the reason I got cancer, if so it has been well worth it just to be able to help make someone else’s life a little easer going through this hell on earth.

    Take care my friend and wishing you a fast recovery
  • Buddy1020
    Buddy1020 Member Posts: 5
    #7
    Hondo said:

    Hi Buddy
    I hope all went well with your surgery today and just to let you know you are not alone my friend, we are all afraid sometimes as we know not what tomorrow will bring. I had NPC Cancer 3 times. Not sure why and not sure if 3 will be my last time, but this I do know. I would rather die believing that there is a God then to die having no hope at all. I am alive but nothing of what I once was, there are a lot of people out there who I have been able to help through there journey with cancer. If I would have never had cancer I would have never meet them or been able to help. Maybe that is the reason I got cancer, if so it has been well worth it just to be able to help make someone else’s life a little easer going through this hell on earth.

    Take care my friend and wishing you a fast recovery

    Jaw replacement and covering hole in my face
    Hello everyone. I was in the hospital for 22 days. It did not go very well. Immediately after the surgery, I had swollen so much that I could not breathe and had to be put on life support for 4 days of the 22. The remainder of my days was in ICU. After 22 days total I was sent home. The surgeon decided to cut open my stomach from my belly button almost to my nipples. That is where they took what they needed to replace the jawbone in my face. Once they did that, they then took a huge graft from my right upper leg to cover the hole that was left behind after the replacement. The (( flap )) they call it, is not healing very well and there is already a separation in tissue in the middle of my chin. The surgery also goes partially into my mouth. If anyone wants to send me an email to robertfturner@yahoo.com (remember the f between robert and turner- I will be happy to send you photos I took with my cell phone. They are UGLY...Very, but I have to live with it.. MY throat feels so tight that I feel like I'm choking to death every minute of the day.

    Doctor has me on 20mg of OPANA and 4 mg of Dilaudid. I have never ever in my life had pain like this and I have already been told that my recovery period is going to be a hard and a long one as well. That keeps me sad. I don't have much spirit to fight this anymore.

    Hondo, Thank you so much for your words. I also Thank anyone who is being a part of this. Sorry, it's taken me this long to even be able to sit up for a while and sign in. Again.. Thanks so much. IT was nice to read the comments. IT really was*

    Buddy1020

Discussion Boards