hello, i am danielle and 23 years old, my mom just got diagnosed with tongue cancer labor day weekend...she cannot eat, she cannot sleep, she cannot talk or function because she is in so much pain. have any of you been through this?
non of her doctors have prescribed her any pain medication!!!!!! she has lost so much weight, she is 43 and weighs a little over 100lbs.
What happeded to the "quality of life"?

Get her to another dr. quick........there is no reason for her to suffer as she is........Don`t give up hope, and she needs to be pain free...........Go quickly for second, third, opinion!!!!!!!!!

As a nurse Packer knows what he is talking about. No patient going through cancer treatment should have to go without pain medications, prescribing them is a standard protocol. If your current doctor does not immediately prescribe adequate drugs to alleviate the pain, get another doctor involved. This is gross mismanagement of things on the current doctors part in my opinion.

Hey Guys, lets get busy here and help these folks out...........we`re in Maine and have no idea of good cancer facilitys in the Pittsburg area...............this should not be happening to her mom.............

Try to keep your message thread in one area so people can follow the progress of your question and the answers to it. If you post the same question all over the board your replies from people will get lost in all the different message threads. University of Pittsburg has an excellent cancer center. If you are looking for a second doctor for comment or change, try them at http://www.upmc.edu or give them a phone call for a referral.

Hi, Pittsburgh is the closest to you fromSlippery Rock , Hershey would be about 3hours away, and Geisinger Metical centre in Danville,Pa. is the same distance. rt. 79 get on 80 straight thru. I am being treated at Geisinger they are set up well and you have a team of Dr.'s. that care for you. You need the ENT dept. Both of these hospitals have a web site that can connect you or give you a phone no. to call. If you go to Pittsburgh and need a second opinion try these. I had no pain just dry mouth, and everyone gave me pain medicine the whole way up the line. Your Mom has enough with whats on her mind right now without suffering pain.Good Luck! gnelsonPs; I live in State College.Pa.

How close is Slippery Rock to Philadelphia? The University of Pa. Hospital has an excellent set of oral cancer surgeons. This is where I had my treatment.

Danielle:

Many cancer centers have advanced practice nurses/nurse practitioners who specialize in pain management. Some also specialize in working with oncology clients and also use complimentary modalities such as massage and therapeutic touch to aid in the pain control..
No need for your mom to be in pain..stomp if you have to. I may have missed a post but has your mom had surgery yet or is this pain from the lesion itself and/or radiation?

Once you decide if you will seek another opinion let us all know and I would also be willing to pass along your e-mail address to the oncology nurse connections i have to try and find you some assistance in your area.

Keep the faith-pain is whatever the client says it is whenever it occurs and need to be treated with the utmost respect (because it is sending a message about the internal environment of the body).

Kim

Kim

Hi, Your mother should not have to suffer pain. I am a nurse and the wife of a cancer patient. First as a nurse I was always taught that if the patient states he has pain then they have pain. My husand's doctor and Nurses could not do enough for him in the way of pain management. They gave him whatever he needed and they let him be the judge of how much that should be. No one in pain should have to suffer. Please take your mom to another doctor. LM

Danielle,

My 38 year old son, just completed two months of radiation/chemo treatment for tongue cancer. In my son's case his disease was misdiagnosed for several years and by the time it was determined to be cancer, it had advanced quite far onto the mobile part of the tongue. Because radiation treatment is so critical to the tongue, you need to find a center that has a IMRT (intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) machine. Please ask your oncolongist about it and find out where you need to go. We live in Northern VA and traveled to southern VA for six weeks. Learn as much as you can and be an active participant in all treatment. Your mother will need!