Hi all - I introduced myself the end of April. My father has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer of the tongue, throat and lymphnodes. His situation is complicated by the fact that he is recovering from triple bipass surgery which was performed 3 weeks ago. Because of the heart surgery we had to postpone the biopsy and definitive diagnosis of cancer (which we received on Monday). He has met with the radiologist and is scheduled to meet with chemo tomorrow. It looks like they are going to start out with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy - with 5 1/2 weeks of treatment everyday. It seems the oncologist and ENT Dr. would like to preceed with surgery sooner rather than later, but the cadiacsurgeon says that it is too soon for my father to undergo another surgery.

Has anyone had to fight the dreaded "c" while also facing all of these other complications?

Thanks for listening.

Not while fighting heart complications. I had to fight two cancers at once--including separate surgeries and radiation for each (fortunately the breast cancer was small enough and nonaggressive enough that it wasn't recommended that I have chemo for that too--that *really* would have left me in a little puddle). It was not easy, especially part about having biopsies and surgeries kind of back-to-back.

As a bit of encouragement, however, there are many people here who have had their oral cancer treated entirely by chemo and radiation, without having surgery because their tumor is on the base of the tongie in a spot where surgery could cause permanent speaking or swallowing difficulties--and the rad and chemo get the whole thing! If your father's tumor, like mine, is on the upper part of the tongue, my sense is the preferred way of working is to remove the tumor surgically before radaition. But just because they can't go that route, doesn't mean he won't be OK the other way.

Nelie