Hello my name is Ryno, 48,3yrs since first diagnosed with Squamous Cell cancer of the tongue.First posting wish I had this forum when I was undergoing treatment.First let me say my heart goes out to all of you dealing with oral cancer.Ive been through it all,Double radiation,Chemo Loss of hair and teeth,Lost half of my body weight,PEG tube ,Still only drink liquid,But... Im ALIVE!!!!Im 18 months out of treatment, tumor gone,last scan showed no sign of cancer.As I look back on the whole ordeal the best advice I could give you all is...POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE!!!!!!Yea I know easy for me to say.But deep inside I know it was the only thing that kept me going..It used to tear me up at the cancer center,I would look into the eyes of the other patients and you could see the fighters and the ones who gave up.They didnt make it.Just when you think you cant go on with anymore treatment..sick of pukeing your guts out..sunburnt skin..worst sore throat ever,when ya swear one more can of Ensure and you will end it yourself,and this crap in your mouth you could use as industrial adhesive!!You gotta look that evil bastard"Squamous" in the eye and tell yourself he's not gonna win!!!Im not making lite of all the suffering you all are going through. Remember Ive been there..Positive Attitude,Good support group,And keep stuffing food down that PEG tube no matter how much comes back up..Ill cut this first post short..You gotta read my next post.The story how I discovered my cancer,Its a classic case of denial and procrastination,Ill post it soon..Anyone with quetions or comments ect. please reply..With such a great forum Im not sure if I can help but im here.

L8R Ryno

Ryno:
I too, still have my peg tube. Only now it is a (Foley type)G-tube and they replace it frequently. I agree a positive attitude is essential. No down side, look death in the face and laugh, unafraid.
Darrell

Ryno:

Thanks for your post! I was recently diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue. They surgically removed the tumor in my tongue (it was a T1) and I had a neck dissection--many of my lymph nodes were also removed. After the surgery, the pathology report came back clean--i.e., no cancer in the lymph nodes. However, I'm part of a study and my lymph nodes were further examined. In a second and more thorough pathology report, they found a microscopic "speck" of cancerous cells in one of my sentinel lymph nodes, and the doctor has recommnended radiation. Many of the members in this forum have urged me to go ahead with the radition, so I will likely take the plunge and go with the radiation treatment.

I admire the fact that you managed to keep a positive attitude throughout your ordeal. Frankly, I find that the most difficult. I have my days, but I'm basically still in shock and often angry (and sometimes depressed) that this has happened to me.

Please keep posting. Your post gave me strength.

regards,
Gino

Ryno,

Welcome to the site. I found it a few months ago. You will meet no better people that there are on this site.


Gino,

It's natural to be angry in shock and depressed. Once the shock wears off, you realize that you need to make some very important decisions.

I also had my choice of going through radiation or not. I went with it. I will not sugar coat it. The radiation was bad. But it also gave me the best chance for long term survival. So for me there was no decision to make. I did not want to increase the odds of reocurrence.

It's just like a fight. When you have your opponent hurt, FINISH them off. That's the attitude that I took. I wasn't about to let cancer dictate to me who I was. Take the anger that you feel and fight back as hard as you can.

Good luck with your treatments,

John

Gino - Go for broke with the treatment. Hit it with everything they have. Our cancer is sneaky and can hide in the shadows from the surgeons.

Attitude is really, really important. Turn the fear and the hurt into angry and use it. Stick your chin out at the beast and smile. Get focused and fight hard. Be strong. Tom

Ryno - Welcome. Thanks for posting and sharing a bit of your story. There are many, many like it here. You are in very good company. Imagine how good it would have felt to you if you had gotten some encouraging posts from other "bretheren"?? You can do that for folks here. I'll look forward to hearing your whole story. Be strong. Tom

Yo Gino...I feel your making the right choice.Please feel free to e-mail me personally and Ill help you through it..Let ya know what to expect..And some preventitive steps.

L8R Ryno
[email protected]

Hello friends,

I want to thank everyone for their encouraging words--please know that reading your posts did me a lot of good. It feels great to be in touch with people who have already gone through what I'm currently experiencing. Although I don't know any of you, I feel close to all of you.

Ryno, I might just take you up on the offer--thanks!

Gino