Hi! My name is Johanna, and my partner Ron has been dealing with oral cancer since 2008. He first got a sore in his mouth that wouldn't heal, and they finally diagnosed it as squamous cell carcinoma. He had it surgically removed, and he was cancer free for a year and a half. Then, last March, he discovered a small lump in his neck...the cancer had returned. So, he had some of the mass removed, and then he had 35 days of radiation, and 4 sessions of chemo.(cisplatin) Three days after his treatments ended, he was in the hospital for 3 weeks with pnuemonia. Then, he was in a care facility for 2 months recovering. He has been home with me since Dec. 7th. He has a G-tube, but he also eats small amounts of soft foods. Things seemed to be going in the right direction until about a week or two ago. He had gone off the fentanyl patch and was feeling moderate pain. All of a sudden, the pain got worse. He says his whole jawbone hurts on the side where he had the radiation, and his cheek has gotten swollen. He has had to start taking vicodin several times a day to relieve the pain. He is calling the home nurse today, and he has an appt. with the oncologist next Mon. tho we may try to make it sooner. Ron is 69 years old. He quit smoking in his 40s. I would appreciate any feedback since we are both worried and confused. The doctors never formally staged his cancer,tho his oncologist told us at his last visit that it was either a stage 3 or 4. I have been reading everyone's posts for months but could never figure out how to post anything myself until last night. This seems like a caring place to voice concerns and get a response.