Welcome to OCF Dr K! Nice to see a doctor join. But I am sorry that you are joining due to your illness. You have come to the best! This is the most comprehensive site for all info regarding oral cancer. There are also the main pages which frequently get overlooked. On the main pages are many news articles and an unbelievable amount of medical info.

Being a physician, you have seen the worst side of cancer. You also know that no 2 patients are going to react the exact same way to treatments, medications and procedures. Best way to get thru this is to work hard at keeping up your nutrition and hydration. Recently there was a newer member who sailed right thru fairly easily only feeling the worst effects the last week of treatment.

I stopped working right around when i began my chemo and radiation treatments. i was fortunate enough to have a very good job where I was able to take a long break from working to concentrate on my health. After being on the forum and seeing so many people go thru treatments, if I had to give a guess at how long you could continue to work I would say 3 weeks. If you will be given chemo, try to get weekly doses instead of the 3 large doses every 3 weeks. The 3 large doses of chemo are more potent and many of us (myself included) skipped the 3rd dose due to being so ill. As far as returning to work, I went back 6 weeks after finishing my treatments. I had a desk job which did not require any exertion. Im sure you are on your feet, making important decisions so I would say 2 months after finishing you should be able to return on a part time basis. Of course I am just making a guess. I hope you have an easy time and do not have to worry about missing much work. But unfortunately, weather you can make time or not cancer has a way of forcing itself into your life and taking center stage, everything else becomes secondary.

When all is said and done, you will learn so much from being on the patient side of this battle. Cancer will teach you to value what truly is the most important things in life, your family and good health. In the end, this is going to make you one heck of a better listener to your patients and much more understanding. Oral cancer is not an easy one to go thru! It affects things that other cancer patients dont have to deal with. Many patients and their caregivers end up needing a therapist and anxiety meds to help them to cope with the devastation oral cancer can cause both mentally and physically. This forum will help you with everything! We are here to help both you and your wife. Anyone who offers to give you a hand, write down their name and contact info and let them know that when the time comes, you will call them for help. Now is not the time to be proud, its ok to ask for help. I hope its not necessary but even if it is to pick up groceries or meds from the pharmacy, it will ease the load from your wife/caregiver.

Hang in there, it really will be ok.

Hey good luck with your up coming tests!

Hi Doc K

Last question first: there is NO VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO OCF FORUM for oral cancer patients, yes, I know I shouted that via all caps, but I thought it was important for you to recognize that you are already ahead of the game here in finding OCF so early. I only read Mayo Clinic, NIH, medical journals my first TX due to two faulty assumptions: first, that a patient based forum would not have have any info that the doctors wouldn't give me and second, that going to a CCC would mean a true integrated approach or having a patient navigator. Both were wrong. You can take a look around the net, but the Base of tongue cancer survival group on Livestrong is typical: 21 posts this entire year with half of them by me. Not even a slow day at the OCF forum.

Work depends on you and your job. I worked from the time I was diagnosed in August 2007 right through radiation and chemo in Sept, October and November. Since the radiation was daily Monday thru Friday, I set up a home office with a Virtual Private Network, a secure laptop issued by work, and my speaker phone for meetings. I answered most of the emails from 1 pm to 4 am when I could not sleep and wrote memoranda and opinions in the afternoon after a nap. By December I went back to work in the office but retired that January. Not because I couldn't do the job anymore, but because I had a foreboding premonition that the cancer would come back and I wanted to travel with my wife before that happened. Turned out to be a good call.

While you likely can't do your patients virtually on line (yet), the paper pushing and meetings workload is easily doable IMO. Sorry you have to join OCF, but welcome
Charm

Hi Dr k,
Sorry that you have had to join this group, but you won't get as much support from anywhere else. My husband was a concretor, finished treatment end July 2009 and has not worked since he started treatment. He is not qualified for any other job. He still suffers extreme fatigue, can't even mow 1/2 the lawns. His immunity is extremly low, I have him on Echinasia [sp] for trying to rebuild his immunity.

Thing to remember is that everyone is different. No 2 people are the same. You as a Dr would know to listen to your body, and if you need to sleep, so be it. Excercise [walking etc] can assist, but not if you are unable.

My hubby has most saliva back, and his taste back which is fantastic. Biggest problem for him/us is his fatigue and immiunity. Main thing is firstly to look after you, and try not to get cranky with your carer - assuning it's your wife she might be doing it tougher than you, so don't fob her off.

Good luck for all your future treatment, just get rid of the shitty dis-ease.

J
xoxoxo

DrK - Glad you found this great site! This is definitely, without a question, the best place to be for all the very latest info on Oral Cancer. Plus you have the direct experience of so many others who share their experiences, suggestions and compassion for what you are going through. When I found this site, my son had already started Rad Tx and without OCF, I don't know how we would have made it through to his successful recovery. He's coming up on five years being cancer-free and we owe a large debt of gratitude to the founder of OCF and everyone involved in making this awesome site what it is! Please stay in touch and keep us updated on how you are doing.

Like everyone is saying, everyone reacts differently, but I was unable to work from a week before my surger, until 7 months later due to complications from radiation and peg tube, and infections.
Everyone is different.
Also, after those 7 months, I went back to work. But the thing that sucks with this is you aren't deemed in "remission" or "cured" until you have had 5 years of clear scans. So hopefully you won't have to be in "remission" to go back to work, but just cancer free!
Best of luck!

doc...how's it going?