My father's story - 10-11-2012 12:56 AM
Hi everyone,
First, let me say that I have been coming to this forum for several years now. Its been a great source of comfort as I try to cope with my father's cancer. But he is very strong and positive and perhaps his story will be somewhat of an inspiration to you.
In January 2005 my father was diagnosed with stage I SCC. He had a spot under his tongue. They did surgery to remove it and treated it with radiation. He was cancer free for over 3 years until his first recurrence in 2008. This time it was near his jaw bone, but still a small spot. They removed it with surgery and decided to try radiation again. The second recurrence was in October of 2010. This time it was a much bigger deal because it was in his jaw bone. He had part of his jaw bone removed and he needed a skin graft because the two radiation treatments left his skin completely destroyed. Now he has been diagnosed with his third recurrence and I am quite distraught. He has cancer in his neck and I'm very scared. I am waiting to find out the recommended treatment. The doctors talked about chemo or maybe a radiation chemo combination. Its a moderately differentiated cancer. Its been almost 8 years since his first diagnosis.
I'm really looking for support and any words of hope, especially for all those wonderful, courageous survivors out there. My dad is only 62 and still works out at the gym every day. Its so hard to accept this. But for those of you just beginning your journey, please know that you can beat the odds (8 years later, my dad is still here and fighting strong!)
Anyway, all words of encouragement are needed. Thank you for reading my story...
First, let me say that I have been coming to this forum for several years now. Its been a great source of comfort as I try to cope with my father's cancer. But he is very strong and positive and perhaps his story will be somewhat of an inspiration to you.
In January 2005 my father was diagnosed with stage I SCC. He had a spot under his tongue. They did surgery to remove it and treated it with radiation. He was cancer free for over 3 years until his first recurrence in 2008. This time it was near his jaw bone, but still a small spot. They removed it with surgery and decided to try radiation again. The second recurrence was in October of 2010. This time it was a much bigger deal because it was in his jaw bone. He had part of his jaw bone removed and he needed a skin graft because the two radiation treatments left his skin completely destroyed. Now he has been diagnosed with his third recurrence and I am quite distraught. He has cancer in his neck and I'm very scared. I am waiting to find out the recommended treatment. The doctors talked about chemo or maybe a radiation chemo combination. Its a moderately differentiated cancer. Its been almost 8 years since his first diagnosis.
I'm really looking for support and any words of hope, especially for all those wonderful, courageous survivors out there. My dad is only 62 and still works out at the gym every day. Its so hard to accept this. But for those of you just beginning your journey, please know that you can beat the odds (8 years later, my dad is still here and fighting strong!)
Anyway, all words of encouragement are needed. Thank you for reading my story...