Hello, allow me to introduce myself. I am zandra baker and having a hard time dealing with my disfigurement. I have scars all over my face due to an acid spill. I would like to discuss how the people here are dealing with their problems.

Hi, I would have to say I am disfigured. I had cancer on the floor of my mouth and it had went into the jaw bone. I have been having reconstruction surgery for the last 2 years to try and make my face look more normal. It is very slow. I am a 57 year old woman who is very alert to her personal appearance. It has been a long hard road. The worse part is some people seem to think if you look odd you must be a little slow to go with it. Very frustrating! Everytime I get all dressed up and go out, I forget it myself and then I will notice someone looking at me odd and it hurts. I will say this most people will look and not even blink an eye. I call it an IQ test and they are the ones who score gifted.When I feel sorry for myself I think of the people I know who have had to deal with birth defects that have been dealing with this all their lives, They seem to have found more important things to help give joy and hope to their lives without looking normal. I am not sure if our road is harder or not, looking normal is something we just took for granted. You are not alone out there.

There have been several posts here that have discussed this in varying degrees, but perhaps you might look at this thread from a year ago.. http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000007

Hi, i want to thank you both for your replys. It means a lot to me. Least i know i'm not alone. Trouble is, i never seem to run into anyone that looks as bad as me, maybe thats being selfish, i dont know. I just want someone to relate to. It can get very lonely and frustrating at times. Anyway, thanks again for your kind words.