Hi OCF Members,

I am writing to see if anyone has experienced or heard of oral cancer behaving in this way. My 49-year-old cousin was diagnosed with oral cancer after a very large tumor was discovered on the left side of his cheek. He had been in severe pain since September after a molar was extracted and never healed. The dentist thought it was a bone infection, and he spent hours daily for a few months in a hyperbarrick oxygen chamber (a pure oxygen chamber) because they thought it would help with the healing process since antibiotics wouldn�t work. Once it was discovered to be squamos cell carcinoma, it was almost so large it was going to burst through his cheek. A month ago, the doctors performed a radical surgery that partially removed his jaw bone in order to extract all of the cancer, and they removed part of his tibula bone on his leg to reconstruct his face. The doctors ensured they had removed all of the cancer (a 14 hour operation instead of the projected 11 hour operation), and they determined it hadn�t spread to his lymph nodes. Last week, they did scans and saw spots on the optic cavity of his eye and nasal cavity. He had also developed a lump under his skin on the right side of his face. All three areas turned out to be the same cancer. The doctors are concerned about the ramifications of his long-term exposure to the pure oxygen tank and are quite surprised by the aggressiveness of the cancer. I have not been able to find any cases that suggest oral cancer travels to the eye, and the doctors said if the oral cancer spreads, then it typically travels south. We just found out today that the doctors want to treat to cure so he will have 3 chemo treatments every 3 weeks for 9 weeks and daily radiation.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I wish I could help, but every time I go get my eye checked, my eye Dr. does thorough exam to make sure it hasn't traveled to my eyes. He said it can happen, but not the norm. Someone else on here may have some answers for you.

Welcome to OCF! Im sorry your cousin has been thru so much. Is your cousin being treated at a cancer center?

I am familiar with alot of what you have written about. Twice I have had a cancerous tumor indie my cheek. It looked just like a canker sore but was SCC. Ive also done 125 of the hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBO). Ive had a similar surgery as your cousin with having my jaw removed. Im even familiar with recurrences as I have had oral cancer 3 times. What I am not familiar with is the spread of it to the eyes. Usually it will spread to the lungs.

I wish your cousin all the best with the upcoming treatments.