Hi all,

My husband had the top 1/3 of his right lung removed on March 6th of this year, after finishing rad and chemo for stage III tonsil and floor of mouth cancer. The spot on the lung turned out to be scar tissue and not a malignancy.

He has gotten a clean bill of health by the ENT as far as the throat goes, and went back to work (light duty) 2 1/2 weeks ago. But.....he is experiencing back pain above the incision site of the lobectomy. Some days, it's all I can do to keep from calling the doctor. He says it's managable without pain medication, but he still uses big doses of over the counter anti-inflamatories.

Has anyone ever experienced this? He has had numerous chest x-rays, and everything seems to be fine. My question is, I guess, if the cancer has spread outside of the lung and into the spine or some other area, would the chest x-ray pick this up, or would it depend on another type of procedure?

Thanks and my prayers are with you all.

Mandi

P.S. I know some of you have followed my posts. Thank you for your tolerance. Thank God, Dennis' is in better spirits now than he was at diagnosis. It was pure, you-know-what, but there is a reason for all of this. In our case, we are closer than ever and can't wait to spend a week with the boys on summer vacation over July 4th. If we can weather this, I know everyone here can. God bless

Hi Mandi,

I have back pain right above the clavicle (wing bone) on the side the radical dissection was done. It comes and goes sometimes fairly bad and sometimes not very bad at all. I have come to believe it is caused by the changes in the way my shoulder hangs as a result of the sugery. For me massage helps a great deal.

I hope this helps and try not to look for more cancer behind every door. (I sometimes wish I could follow my own advice)

Thank you Mark.

That's the thing. Dennis never had the surgery that you (and most others) did. That in itself makes me question the doctors' treatments. Should we have gone for the neck surgery? And with the lung surgery so close behind the end of chemo and rad, what in the world is "normal"? It feels like I'm digging for buried treasure at times. Just to understand the basics of what he is facing seems impossible.

There is much more information available for those who had surgery. The rest of us are kind of hung out to dry. Did we do the right thing? aaarrrgghhhh!

Mandi

Mandi, don't ever regret over treatment your husband received. Everyone's case is different and we have to trust our doctors who should know what treatment suits the patient best. As a stage 4 tonsil cancer patient myself, I never had any neck surgery. Do I worry about not getting the neck surgery, which may as a consequence increase my chance of recurrence? No.Because a patient that has undergone all the three types of treatment can have recurrence at any time. I always bear in mind the words of my ENT doctor who said that it is an act of chance that I developed such cancer since I never smoke, never drink and no family history. Whether the illness will relapse in future is a big question mark no one can answer and that is why we are closely watched and tested. It definitely brings us more harm than good if we keep on regretting and worrying.

Karen stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01.

It would be unlikely that an oral cancer would spread to the spine or related areas. This disease has been well studied, as have been its routes of metastasis. The most likely areas of metastasis, are the aerodigestive tract, lungs, esophagus, larynx, even stomach. With advanced cases that have node involvement, you have to consider that the lymphatic system can carry the malignant cells to more distant sites. With a lung involvement that was positive, it can go anywhere, given that the malignant cells now have direct access to the circulatory system. Involvement in the osseous tissues is usually limited to the mandible and maxilla and the other associated major bones of the face. Take a look at a couple of the permanent threads titled

Mandi, My totaly un-medical thought is that he is experiencing something related to the sugery he had. My wife had 3 C-sections (the boys) and she experienced all sorts of pains and strange sensations for a year or so after each. I have more pains in the neck that come and go and test my mental strength. I have asked my ENT if I have a problem and he has repetedly said NO that it is normal to have these sensations after the surgery.

Now I know your husband didn't have the same surgery but they were still in there cutting and undoubtedly there is some scar tissue and muscles that were not used while he was recovering and now he feels a bit better so they are getting a work out.

My GUT feeling is that you are going to have the best 4th of July vacation you have ever had
So plan on having your fun!