Just found this board and wanted to introduce myself. I am a 50 something woman who is now caring for/helping my 76 year old mother who was diagnosed with throat/tonsillar cancer this past July. She finished her radiation and chemo therapy treatments a few weeks ago and now we are headed to the surgical oncologist/plastic surgeon as her jaw has been damaged/broken/destroyed (not sure which) from either the cancer or the treatment.

I am still searching the boards, am looking for info on elderly patients. I get the point that she can have many more years of life but I am fairly sure that she will be very upset if the docs suggest radical/painful reconstructive surgery. She is also depressed now because we both thought that everything would be mostly fixed once the radiation was over which it obviously isn't.

I am very glad I found this forum and appreciate all the information everyone is sharing.

Welcome to OCF. Reconstructive surgery is not anything that can be compared to what your mother experienced with chemo and radiation. Ive had many surgeries done and have found it to be much easier than chemo/rads. Of course everyone is different but reconstructive surgery really is something easy to recover from. Most radiation patients find healing is slower after having radiation treatments. Make sure you get a second opinion before agreeing to any other treatments. A large cancer center would be the best place to get the 2nd opinion.

Often hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBO) are recommended to speed healing. This type of treatment is very simple. Ive done 125 of them and found it to be one of the easiest things I have gone thru. Usually patients go thru alot less, maybe about 30 or 40.

It is very common for oral cancer patients to become depressed during or after treatments. Radiation can be very difficult, many of us struggle. If your mother seems to stay depressed for more than a couple weeks it would be a good plan to seek out a therapist or doctor. She may need the help of anti-depressants to get past her treatments. It will take several weeks until your mother begins to bounce back after finishing radiation. I hope as time goes on she pulls out of this and begins to look forward to a bright future. We have seen many patients in their 70s successfully battle oral cancer and its after effects.

Best wishes!

Hi Jaz!

Welcome to OCF! Very glad you found this forum, sorry you had to!

I agree with Christine, rads and chemo is the hard part. Both Christine and I have had mandible reconstruction done, which is an extremely involved procedure, yet I think I'd sign up for that again before choosing another round of rads.

Our resident "old" person, EZJim, is an example that where there is a will there is a way and continues to inspire and enjoy life everyday. That guy is my hero. I hope you find all the information and support our little haven on the net has to offer.

Eric

Hi welcome - these guys above I know what their talking about! Hoe verything works out for your mom!