This is my first post to this forum. I'm a 48 year old dentist with an eighteen year history of oral SCC. My most recent surgery (#5) was back in February, a radical neck dissection. The final path was such that XRT was indicated. The radiation was clearly the hardest thing I've experienced thus far. I'm now five months post-radiation, and am still struggling with pain, severe neck stiffness, xerostomia, and difficulty swallowing. I'm on my third round of PT, and am taking a NSAID BID (clinoril).I did not have an N-G tube or a PEG tube (in hindsight perhaps I should have). My surgeon told me recently that it could easily be at least one year before I feel a lot better. He (and my radiation oncologist)assure me that I'm doing well. Is there anyone out there with a somewhat similar dx and tx to mine who has had a similar post-op course? Has anyone benefitted from trigger point injections?

Being an anal retentive dentist, I want to feel better yesterday, and intellectually I know that's not going to happen, but I continue to struggle mentally with the slow pace of my recovery.

David Brown, DDS

Stage 1 lateral border of tongue in 1986 requiring L neck dissection, three surgeries later in Feb 2004 invasive SCC (poorly differentiated) L radical neck dissection followed by 37 treatments XRT