Do the visual on this... they cut you inside your mouth. Now I am not sure how extensive your surgery was or your surgeons route, but I know that with my neck dissection (had 40 nodes removed) I have stitches/scar tissue from the backend of my oral tongue in my mouth - down the left side of my throat - INSIDE as well as the usual visual scar on the outside. It's hard to describe but they literally cut through my neck outside to inside - I could feel it tightening during rads so I asked if I had been stitched there. They also removed the floor of my mouth on the cancerous side below where the tumor grew on my tongue, and reconstructed the whole thing - FUN RIGHT? Anyway - Because of this I am numb for the most part on the operative side (sensitivity does return eventually just not completely - it feels like a bee sting if I accidentally bite my tongue at this point) - so I tend to favor my other side - to chew and swallow. Fortunately the swallowing is okay but the mechanics of it are a little off so if I take in a lot of thin fluids I think (because I am rewired) they sometimes get into my ear canal which actually connects to your throat area (look at a diagram of the human head) This doesn't happen all the time but occasionally when it does I get an earache.

wink

have a good day.


Cheryl : Irritation - 2004 BX: 6/2008 : Inflam. BX: 12/10, DX: 12/10 : SCC - LS tongue well dif. T2N1M0. 2/11 hemigloss + recon. : PND - 40 nodes - 39 clear. 3/11 - 5/11 IMRT 33 + cis x2, PEG 3/28/11 - 5/19/11 3 head, 2 chest scans - clear(fingers crossed) HPV-, No smoke, drink, or drugs, Vegan