DD has Squamous Cell cancer of the mouth
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DD has Squamous Cell cancer of the mouth
| Sat, 03-18-2006 - 8:24pm |
Hello, My 36 yo DD has cancer of the tongue. They Dx in Oct 2005..Squamous Cell carcinoma it took forever to get her insurance Like none so she went to the county as a medical indigent adult. in Jan 2006 Yesterday they told her that they are going to remove the left part of her tongue, give her a tracheostomy, and then remove the lymph nodes from her neck. If they are positive then they will do radiation for 5 days a week for 6 weeks.. all outpatient except for the surgery.. He told her that time would let her talk again. I have been reading some pretty nasty stuff about this cancer and the pain relating to the radiation. Some of it says that her teeth will fall out and she will not be able to make saliva ect...
Has anybody here dealt with this type of cancer and radiation?? Any hints for support and care?? In my family we have had breast cancer (my sister), colon cancer (Older DD),uterine (younger DD) I have had ovarian, thyroid, cervical and uterine cancer. All the others were chemo treatments post surgery not radiation. And yes we had the genetic tests and they came back negative.. Any help would be appreciated Rusty
Has anybody here dealt with this type of cancer and radiation?? Any hints for support and care?? In my family we have had breast cancer (my sister), colon cancer (Older DD),uterine (younger DD) I have had ovarian, thyroid, cervical and uterine cancer. All the others were chemo treatments post surgery not radiation. And yes we had the genetic tests and they came back negative.. Any help would be appreciated Rusty

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Hi rusty, you sure have had your share of cancer in the family.
Judy
cl-ivhjude
Hi dusty
my husband was told in Oct 2005 also that he has the squamous cell also. My husbands started on his tongue and spread to his to his neck. In Dec he had surgery on his neck to remove the lump and lympnods(??)he has been getting radiation since the beginning of Jan and Chemo the radiation was 5 times a week for 8 weeks and the chemo I guess has been about 13 weeks when he finishes next week that was 1x a week for the chemo. In the beginning he was very sick from the chemo the radiation was very rough on him he finished the radiation two weeks ago and still is not right. During the whole thing he could not eat he had to get a feeding tube which did not work. He was in and out of the hospital 3 times for dyhration. He is now on a iv feeding tube through his port whic is used for chemo. He has no salva now the taste buds are starting to come back now when he can eat. His thoart is still very sore. The radiation was directed to seven spots around the neck and tongue and thoart area. He was one of the people who did not handle the treatments so well. But it is almost over now. He is dealing with a infection right now which makes it worst because he is in alot of pain right now from the infection. He never had surgery on this tongue. Just remember everyone reacts differently to the treatment you daughter my not react the same why. Just remember there is a light at the end and it will be over soon. Good luck to you and your daughter. If you want you can email me if you like m26tl@yahoo.com. I know what you and your daughter are going through. Praying works also.
m26
Hi m26, just wanted to jump in and say a hello and welcome to you.
Judy
cl-ivhjude
Hi Judy
Yes he is almost done his treatments he has one chemo next Thursday and the radiation was done two weeks ago. In about 4-6 weeks he will get a full body pet scan done. He is done with the radiation doctor for a month or so the chemo doctor I dont know yet, the surgeon who removed the lump on the neck wents to see him once a month for now. Right now is the healing time from the radiation which will take a couple of weeks that is why the pet scan is so far away. Now we go back to the waiting game. The doctors say it looks good the last cat scan showed the spot on his tongue is gone, but i want the pet scan results. The side effect about the teeth did not happen to my husband but he did have to see a denist because it is possible. He lost alot of weight because he could not hold anything down the feeding tube never really worked right. So he has a feeding tube we cannot use or take out right now he is being feed thought a iv my his port. Which helped him to gain 10 pounds back. I am sorry to hear about the problem with the insurance. Thank God I have good insurance because the medicine is not cheap even with a discount some of my husband medicine cost 1100 for one script and that is only one he has many. But i have a good prescription plan too. Its a hard road be prepared but you can and will get thought it.
m26
Judy
cl-ivhjude
Hi again
The reason he gained so much weight is because the food he is taking in by the iv is called tpn(?) it has alot of protein, fat, sugar and vitimans in it and they deliver it once a week it has to be made up and it is only good for so long. Yes he can eat with the feeding tube in, there are three types of feeding tubes one is inserted in the stomach that is the one he has, one is inserted into the intestines and the other one is through the nose. He eats oddles of noodles and pudding.Sometimes he can only handle broth and tea because of the pain. He has had alot of side effects but the one thing about him is he has and still has a postive attitude. He has been great through this whole thing so far
I am the one that is having the hard time. But thats another story and not important what is important is getting him healthy again. you know they also call this type of cancer the smokers cancer and he was a smoker.
m26
"I am the one that is having the hard time. But thats another story and not important what is important is getting him healthy again."
That is one of the reasons we are here, for you, the caregiver.
Judy
cl-ivhjude
Hi Dusty
I hope you dont feel I took anything away from your post. How is everything with your daughter? I hope what I talked about was any help. Why did the insurance not cover anything? When does your daughter go for her surgery? I am sorry she has to have the surgery my husband did not have any of his tongue removed. Can they kill the tumor with radiation and chemo and not have the surgery? If you need anything or want to talk please email me. I hope everything works out for you and your daughters. Best wishes and I will pray for all of you.
m26
Hi Judy
I know what you mean by crushing and burning its happen twice so far. I feel i should not feel the why i do because i am not the one who is sick. Its hard when you have to take care of everything and everyone. I have two children also to take care of. It seems like it never ends. It is hard trying to deal with the kids and how they feel my son does not like to look at his father because he has changed in appearance and the feeding tube and now the iv feeding he just can handle it, and then he shows it in different whys like in school he got into a fight for the first time a little while ago. My daughter is just very worried. You tell them everything will be alright but you really dont know for sure yourself. Then him being in and out of the hospital three times was hard being there and at home for the kids when they got home from school and trying to work full time is alot. I think some of the medicine makes him irritable where he might flip on any little thing i just try and count to ten and tell myself its the medicine or just how he feels that day i never know sometimes it like walking on egg shells. Another thing is we have not been together (if you know what i mean) for God knows how long and i am not used to that happening. I know he is sick and on alot of medicine but you know i need to know he still cares and loves me. Now i sound selfish I am sorry if i do. I also have these mini crying session I never know when there gonna happen I am having one right now as I type this. I am sorry. I have to go now.
m26
m26 I am glad you shared what is happening to you.
Judy
cl-ivhjude
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