David admitted tonight that he's been so unbearable because he's scared. VERY scared. He had a huge lump appear for about four days in the right side of his chest. It's been gone for five days now. After the lump disappeared he began having a 'woom woom woom' feeling in his head that only provides a few seconds of relief before beginning again & what he describes as tension / pulled neck muscle feeling in the base of his head & neck (right where his hair fell out from Radiation). He also has a fever and his skin has a slightly yellowish tint to it. Beyond the feeling weak & dizzy with a slight fever for the past few days, the other symptoms are news to me. He didn't mention because he didn't want to worry me...

We took in a mother cat who had babies about 2 months ago. He didn't mention because he thought the lump could be because of the cats. (I had cat scratch fever as a girl, but the lymph nodes in my arm pits swelled up - not in my chest). He's also been swimming at the pool in town a few times, and could have possibly picked up an infection there and / or could have water trapped. Since his Maxillectomy water would get trapped, until we discovered swimmers ear drops which dried out the water almost instantly. So in summary - he didn't mention the lump or the feeling in his head & neck because he didn't want to worry me, and figured it was because of the cats and swimming...but admitted tonight he's petrified the cancer could have returned.

His Dr. is a 5-6 hr hour drive from us, and his 6 month scans & checkup is scheduled for June 16th. We asked for scans to be completed here locally with the results in hand for his checkup & a referral to a local ENT to take a look prior to his checkup in Indy because David has been feeling weak & dizzy w/ no appetite the past few days (before learning what I just told you above about ALL of his symptoms). So his Dr's office called back earlier today and his CT scan is scheduled for Friday at the local hospital and no appointment with a local ENT yet (they're booked). Being told after business hours (he just told me tonight about all of his symptoms) having the whole big picture, I'm concerned he could have - at the very least -an ear infection, cat scratch fever, or possibly meningitis... At worst, the cancer has returned.

Having said ALL of that (and thank you for patiently reading my post) - please advise. Do you think he should go to the ER since they can't get him into an ENT yet?

PS. If he has a CT scan on Friday, can we find out that day - or relatively quickly what the results are? It would be EXCRUCIATING to wait until his June 16th appointment to have the results.

Hi Honey
i just read your post carefully and the only thing that jumped out at me was the "yellowish tinge" to his skin.This is usually a sign of a problem with the liver or gall bladder.Are the whites of his eyes clear or do they have a tinge as well?Does he have a fever?is his urine very dark?

The symptoms in his head can quite easily be caused by anxiety ie "panic attacks"
I would suggest a visit to a doctor as soon as you can,if for no other reason than to ease your minds.Its an unfortunate fact that when you have cancer you tend to attribute all symptoms to the disease whic is not always the case.

good luck

liz

Are the doctors you are referring to his cancer doctors? Do you have a regular family doctor to go to when David gets sick? Personally, thats where I would start. If yu do not have one and he is that ill then a trip to the ER would make sense. Just get him checked out.

Hi Liz & Christine - thanks for responding.

Yes, his ENT / cancer Dr. who I'm referencing.
He doesn't have a regular family Dr. - primarily because it takes two hours to be seen because it's 'the Dr's office' so he goes to the convenient care the next big town over (we live in a very small town).

The whites of his eyes look white(ish) (minus being bloodshot)

He has agreed to go to the ER tomorrow morning.

Thank you for your wisdom / advice.

I would really recommend establishing a Primary Care Provider (PCP) that is close to you and who you and David are comfortable with. Having one physician close to help coordinate all of the other dr's involved in your husbands care makes everything so much easier...at least it did for me.

This also helps regulate prescriptions and lessens the chance of having bad drug interactions as well as giving you a somewhat local contact when something like this does come up that is scary.

This disease is scary, the symptoms and side effects from treatments are scary, the whole process is scary. What's terrifying is the unknown. David is allowing himself to let his terror of the unknown stop him from taking the appropriate actions to his care and that's just wrong. David not only needs to go to an ER or Dr right away he also needs physchological help ASAP. He should really be on an anti-anxiety med and an anti-depressant along with the counseling.

As his caregiver and wife, unfortunately it's your job to make him see that because he isn't seeing it himself. My heart goes out to you dear and I hope I didn't sound harsh above, I'm just that concerned.

You've got me on facebook, send me a PM anytime you need a sounding board or whatever.

Eric

Let us know what the ER Dr. says. I will say a prayer for you and david. I now this is all scary for you right know. Just remember what is on your signature, Phillipians 4:13. i have another one for you which has become my life verse, Jeremiah 29:11. Hope you can find comfort in knowing that HE is always with you!

I am going to apologise in advance if i offend anyone here,but i really am fed up with this magic pill attitude every time anyone hits a rough patch.Medication is not the be all and end all,and in a lot of cases it can be totally counterproductive bringing many more problems of its own.Carers and patients who have insight into their illness and all its allied problems will realise that emotional and behaviour issues are part and parcel of having cancer, and treatment and recovery are tough on every one.While some people undoubtedly benefit from chemical intervention when these emotions become a danger to their well being,for most, they pass and drugs should not be considered an integral part of TX.I have spent too many years watching lovely people become dependant and addicted to medication given to freely and taken too lightly.To the many people here who i know find this method of dealing with things a god send,i apologise if i sound harsh or arrogant but believe me when i say i have had dozens of people say to me that i should go to the doctor and "get help" and i say to them that i don't want to not feel,or to live my life numbed and in limbo.As a short term remedy i admit it may be beneficial,but i would urge you as far as posible to try and cope until the situation becomes untenable.

liz

Hi Liz. I do 100% agree with you. Here in the "states" our doctors will write a script for just about anything without considering the long-term affects and how addictive and dependent the drugs are. I have the opposite problem with my husband. He is currently 8 weeks out of treatments and still in a LOT of pain in his tongue and throat. From day 1 he has refused to take any pain medication besides Tylenol. I work in a hospital and get our prescriptions for next to nothing. I have gotten them filled and he has refused to take them. We have pain patches, Percocet etc. He did take the Zofran until around 3 weeks ago because the nausea was so bad. He is currently trying to eat some soft foods and won't even use the Magic Mouthwash because he said that numbs the taste buds and he can actually taste everything.

More than one person said to me "the doctors did give him anti-depressants didn't they"? Dealing with cancer is going to be depressing and produce "feelings" of despair, anger, sadness etc. Our society does expect a "magic" pill for just about everything.

Nicely put Liz. WE sem to think alike on a lot of things,.I get tired of hearing the same thing day after day after day too. I sure would worry about the yellow tint . never really a good sign.

Update:

David went to the ER on Thursday.

CT scan, chest x-ray & blood work all came back normal.

The 'woom woom woom' feeling in his head has nearly vanished since getting some sleep.

Personally, I think you all called it: stress & anxiety!

He'll see his ENT & Prosthodontist Monday & Tuesday - I'll update then.

Thanks again for your advice everyone!

-Philly