I am sorry that my experience didn't help much and your white spots are more than what I experienced. I am also so sorry about how things are going...All I can do is keep you and your husband in my thoughts and prayers. I do understand though about staying positive...I have (knock on wood) been very lucky so far but continuously am on the look out for signs...hopefully they can catch this and do something for your husband. Sue is right though attitude can help...

Dianne

Claudia,
I'm so sorry your husband is having such a rough time. It really is a tough cancer and treatment. My dad just started radiation and is having so many problems, vomitting, phlegm, pain, thrush.....
Do you have anyone helping you? It's very hard to take care of someone by yourself. My dad is living with my sister, but we all (six siblings) go over there and try to help whenever possible. She has the majority of the burden, however.
I will pray for your husband.

Claudia- How are you doing? I see you called my cell the other day but i missed it. It really is a working number even thought it says it isn't. I try you later.

Sue

Brian you are a wise man. One of my biggest difficulties is dealing with how different my life will be from now on, but I try to focus on being grateful for the opportunity to have such a different life. You are correct about having to face mortality - it is not something that a lot of us have thought about.

Rett I had 80% of my tongue removed in Sept 08 and I am able to swallow - how well depends on the thickness of what I am trying to swallow. My therapist told me that if I don't keep trying to swallow I will lose the ability to swallow and that it will get better the more I try. I don't know the truthfulness of this, but I am able to swallow thicker substances the more I try. Maybe that will help spark some interest with your dad.

Oh I can really get your take on how life is different. I went through everything, lost my jaw, almost died many times, and now
I am back to work and trying to prove to them that I am worth what they are paying me. I am a manager, former teacher at a Community College, ( don't know how I got to where i am, well, my husband)
but boy, years ago, I lived in a small town, union workers, my
boss promoted me to manager and all the "men" in the back were saying "yeah, I guess I can work for a woman". I laughed to myself and just stood my ground and demanded perfection like a "man" would do. Now, with Obama, I say, well, it's a good thing I was not black also. Imagine how far everyone, woman, caucasions, african americans, all others and all religions, in USA today have proceeded today. We have all come so far.
I am proud of us the USA.We have come a long way, now if we could
come a long way with cancer and fight this stuff and learn about it and spend money on research-wish we could do better and learn
more.

I keep trying- I look different and keep "going to war" with trying to act normal and get things done and people look at me and I can tell they are looking at my jaw, my disfigure, but I look them square back in the eye and do my job. I go the extra mile and get it done. And then some days I go home and sit down
and have a cry cause I am so different. Oh, I wish I were just a woman again and that's all I had to deal witH!!!
Should I send this to a woman's movement committee?
Just kidding. Wish that was all I had to worry about anymore.
Thanks for listening.




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