My husband has just recently been diagnosed with oral cancer and is having surgery on Monday along with reconstructive surgery followed by 6 weeks of radiation 5x a week. I am so overwhelmed with everything right now and to be honest mad, sad, angry.....all kinds of emotions are going on right now. I've dealt with medical issues in my immediate family for almost 40 years now and to be honest I don't want to deal with them anymore.

Welcome to OCF! You have found the best place to get info and support. We will help both you and your husband get thru his treatments and recovery. As a caregiver you dont have an easy job so its understandable how you can get overwhelmed.

After first being diagnosed there are a million things to do before treatment starts. Has your husband gotten his treatment plan yet? If not, has he gotten a second opinion?

I suggest reading and learning about oral cancer to help you become a strong advocate for your husband. There are so many things in the main OCF site that can help. Heres a link to it.

Main OCF Site

Stick with us and we will help you. Its ok to lean on us, we completely understand as we have been thru this ourselves.


Best wishes!

Welcome to the forum although I'm sorry you have to join our circle of friends.

Where is your husband being treated? I am from Ontario, too. My husband was treated at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. I have to say he got the best care I could ask for.

Please feel free to come back and post questions you may have about the treatments. I got a lot of support when my husband was undergoing treatment.

I am sorry. I understand. We are half way through my husband's treatment plan. I am not going to lie, it is not easy but I am just so grateful there is a treatment. My husband and I have both had a few meltdowns. He says I am stressed because I am taking care of 2 people. I say he is struggling because even if he can get past a hard emotional day, he still feels like yuck. We try to stay positive and not think about the next step. The thing that helped me the most in the beginning was to write down everything. We are both shocked at the things I wrote down that neither of us remember being told. Hang in there. We are still having some very good days together.

Hello and welcome.
I have been where you are right now. Diagnosis is so overwhelming. I just told myself " 1 day at a time". Every day I kept repeating this and honestly this is what got me through the early days. Stay positive, always. You will both need this. The going will get rough , but we are here for whenever you need.
You can do this,
Tammy