Just got some bad news. Dan has a cancerous tumor in his left neck. Scheduled for radical neck dissection Christmas eve and radiation after a month. His left neck is swollen and he has pain in his jaw and face and headaches. It has only been 4 months since his partial glossectomy and modified neck dissections which showed negative nodes.

Wondering if anyone has any advice or info on what we should expect from surgery and/or the following radiation treatments. It's all happening so fast again and we would appreciate anything anyone has to offer.

Thanks!
Debbie

Debbie,

Is this a "true radical or modified radical disection" to remove the lymph nodes from the left side? I just had 22 nodes removed from the left side of my neck last month after 2 1/2 months of radiation.

Hi Debbie,

I am so sorry that you have to go through this again. There are many good posts in the archives about radiation and the many side effects. It is not a fun project in fact most here would say it sucks EXCEPT that it has a good reputation for killing off cancer cells.

SCC has a bad reputation for microscopic spreading beyond the area of the tumor. These microscopic cells are like seeds, they sprout up somewhere new. That is why surgery alone is an option that might be considered incomplete treatment. Radiation is really good at taking care of these microscopic (and even larger) tumors. Be sure that your medical caregivers are the best you can find.

This time you want to be thorough and beat up the cancer once and for all.

Hi Debbie,

I am sorry you and Dan have to go through more treatment for cancer. I will be praying for Dan and know that he can beat this. Please know that there will be many members of this forum who will be praying for Dan. Please keep us posted on his recovery.

God Bless, Dan

Big Red,
This is a radical neck dissection to the left. He already had modified where they took nodes. The tumor is large and the oral surgeon plans to take most everything except the artery.

Daniel & Mark,
Thanks for the encouraging words...not quite the Christmas we had planned. Just praying that God guides the surgeon's hands and that this will take care of the cancer.

Merry Christmas to all!
Deb

Debbie,

Sorry, new to the board. Then this is second go around for you. I am by no means a subject matter expert here. The fact that you are a willing care giver means a lot. I went through all the treatments (other) than a few rides after surgery myself. But thats just me (I'm sure it was some control thing).

What is he taking for the pain? Does it really help? Just remember to give 120% to this for the days when he can only give 80...best wishes and thought.

Jim

Hello everyone,
Hope your holidays are special! Dan had his radical neck dissection on Christmas eve. The neck dissection went well, however, they were not able to get all the tumor. It is attached to his carotid artery and jugular in throat. After healing for 3 weeks he will undergo megodoses of chemo/rad in hopes that it could kill the remaining cancer. I am worried about these three weeks as cancer so far grows in him rapidly. We are told nothing else can be done except wait and then do chemo/rad.

Anyone else have any information for us? Pathology will be back Monday or Tuesday and that is when we should get all the final results.

Take care!
Debbie

Hi Debbie, Make sure you say hello to Dan for me. The waiting is the hardest part. They also told me they couldn't get the whole tumor due to it being on the carthoid artery. They aimed the IMRT radiation at this section and hoped to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Lets hope that thr remaining treatment will do the job that the surgery failed to do. I am finding this part of my time (after trearment) is the most diffucult. To much time to think about it before I go back to work in Feb. My wife and I are going to join the YMCA on Monday and I plan on working out 5 days a week. Want to get my golf swing in order before April. I was playing to an 8 handicap and I sure would like to play to that again!!
I will be praying for Dan's recovery through this diffucult time for both you and Dan.

Your Friend, Daniel

So sorry to hear the news, Debbie. We are going through the exact same thing except hubby was not a candidate for surgery for his recurrence. One of his tumors is also surrounding the carotid (he has two that we know of). He starts radiation this afternoon and chemo tomorrow.

I'd love to keep up together off-line. Feel free to email me - if you have in the past and I haven't answered please excuse me! I'm over a month behind in mail and hope to get a jump on it after the holidays.