Hi Everyone
My name is Shannon, I am 34, married with 4 kids, from Canada. I was just diagnosed with cancer on my vocal cords 6 days ago, so all of this is still really new and sinking in for me. I am hungry for knowledge right now- kind of sucks waiting in limbo for the treatments to start- i just want to DO something. Right now I am waiting for a CT scan to determine exactly how much cancer, if its spread etc I guess. After that I meet with my team of docs and find out what lies ahead.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello. I hate that there is a need for a forum like this, but thankful to know there are others out there who can understand and help me with what lies ahead.

Hi Shannon. I am Donna and live in Winnipeg. Where do you live, what doctors have you been referred to. I am sorry you need to be here but it is a FABULOUS place for information and support. Also, if you want to send me a private message to let me know if you have MSN messenger or Yahoo messenger, I would be very happy to chat with you there.

Hugs. You are not walking this path alone.

Donna

Hi Shannon! Welcome to OCF! Im so sorry you are here but you have found the best source for info and support. There is alot of very useful info on the main pages of OCF as well as here on the forum.

While waiting for your treatment to begin, get a complete blood test including thyroid. Have a good hearing test and dental exam, including a mold made of your teeth. You may need flouride trays made. Try to eat everything you love and dont worry about calories. Most of us lose alot of weight while going thru treatments due to different side effects from procedures. If you are thin try to add a few pounds before any treatment.

I know its a scary time for you. Start to network and everyone who offers to help you write down their name and number. Tell them you will let them know when the time comes how they can help. Dont turn anyone away who offers. Sometimes a serious illness brings out the best in people and in others they will surprise you when they shy away. With having 4 children Im sure there is something friends and relatives can do to give you a hand.

Best wishes with all your upcoming tests.

Wow Donna, I am in Winnipeg too!! Dr Gall is my ENT and he has referred me to Dr Kerr..aside from that I don't know anything else at this point. If I can figure out how the private message works here I will message you right away Would love to talk!

To send a private message (PM), click on the person's name and a drop down menu will appear. Click on 'send a PM'.

Thanks for the welcome Christine! The day after i was diagnosed last week I went for a chest xray and blood work, and I read some posts regarding dental check ups and have an appt for one of those on Saturday...so I am getting my ducks all lined up I have started to make a list of ppl who have offered to help and I have a friend who told me she is already starting to make some freezer dishes for me so my kids are well fed. I am going to enlist some other friends in that project as well. My biggest worry is making sure my kids lives are disrupted as little as possible and that they are taken care of if I don't have the strength to do it.
Thank you for all the great suggestions. I am definitely not thin..my newest silver lining lately is that at least i may lose a little weight

Sorry for your diagnosis but welcome to a wonderful forum where you DEFINATELY won't be alone thru this.
Good luck will be watching for more updates and info from you!

HI there... from another Canadian - I'm in toronto.

I know you are waiting for your CT... I know the I want to do something now feeling. If you have your appointment time call the CT department ask them if they can get you in sooner, or if you can be put on a waiting list. Often times they have unused spaces they hold back. Explain that you are nervous and want to do it asap. And give them your info. Also you don't have to wait a week for CT results the are usually available the next day. just so you know.

Educate yourself on your particular type of cancer. We have a great medical system up here but you do have to push to get things done (its easy for them to make you wait... ) so push... make the calls you have to to try and speed up the process. They'll probably want an MRI too. And a chest xray is good, but you should have a proper chest CT. that will tell them far more than an Xray. Good luck My cancer was of the tongue. so I'm not over familiar with the vocal cords but if you have any questions feel free to pm me as well. take care~

Be very cautious with weight loss. The doctors have a goal to lose zero pounds during treatments. Its next to impossible to accomplish that goal. Many of us, including myself experienced rapid weight loss which made me feel horrible. I am still thin 4 years later. I have only recently gained a little after losing over 40% of my total starting weight. Nutrition will play a huge role in how you feel and recover. I think the better you do with hydration and nutrition, the easier it will be to get thru this and recover.

As far as your children go, Im glad to see you are taking names and numbers to build yourself a network of support. Your kids will need help and so will you. Not everyone struggles but having 4 little ones is bound to make a difference in your energy level. Try to get one person to agree to stop by your home every day to help with your kids. It will take a huge load off your shoulders. This may sound foolish but I credit my maternal instinct as helping to push me to survive. My kids only have me and they needed their mom. The 3rd time I had cancer I almost refused treatment as I was afraid I wouldnt make it anyway. Somehow I beat my doctors predictions and survived. Its now 2 years later and Im doing very well. So you see, it can be done!!!!

How old are our children? Do you have many relatives to help you?

Hi Shannon - I'm so glad you found this place! It really is the best place for the latest information and knowledgeable and compassionate help from people who have had similar experiences. It does help to get things ready and as you explore all the information on this site, be sure and write down any questions you might have for your doctors or for anyone here. It helps to have someone with you when you go for your appointments so you can remember what was said or suggested and discuss it later. It sounds like you already have great support with friends offering to help. Also, Cheryl's suggestion is a really good one about seeing if your appointment can be moved up so you don't have to wait as long. When my son was diagnosed, the Oral Surgeon's office made an appointment with the ENT surgeon for two weeks away but we got it moved up to the next business day (having called on a Friday)! So it can be done! Hope everything goes well for you! Let us know what happens.

Just adding my hello and welcome. Sounds like you are getting things organised and are already gettin some good advise. good for you.

Thank you everyone for the great welcome and advice! while i really don't want to be here I think having this support is going to be so critical.

Christine, I have 3 girls who are 8,14 and 16 and then a 12 yr old stepson as well. None of my family lives here so that is really hard for me, even this early on and I know im going to miss them even more as this goes on. 2 of my sisters are trying to make arrangements to come and see me, probably after cmas. My husbands family- i have his sister her husband but that's it. I am lucky I some really good friends who I know will be here for whatever I need from them.

I know it's not something to look forward to but if you can get most of it taken care of before christmas it's in your best interest as everything slows to a slow crawl then for three weeks. hugs and take care.

True,
Cheryl. I was diagnosed on dec 22 and didn't start tx til march.

Wow that's a long wait and if a friend hadn't helped me it would have been the same for me!!

Hi Shannon,
So sorry you are here, but like everyone has said, it really is a great support system. There are so many people here that almost every situation is covered!!
We have 3 children ages 14,12 and 10. One thing that I did was take my kids to the clinics for a tour. The Drs, etc were wonderful. They gave the kids information based on their ages to help them understand and also let them ask any questions. Our middle son had many and it was so great to have someone else explain things to him. My husband and I were still kind of in the "deer in the headlights" phase so it was hard to answer their questions. It also helped because when we said "we're going to chemo", they knew where we were. They could picture it. Same when we started radiation. When my husband talked about his mask, they could picture it. That and the table, etc. Really helped give the kids some peace.
Another thing my sister set up was a website with lotsahelpinghands.com. It is a way for friends and neighbors to sign up and bring meals in as often as possible. It was a God send for us as there were days we would be out all day and when we got home we had 3 hungry kids and mom. (My 86 year old mom lives with us too.) The meals being broughtin, can't even explain the weight that took off my shoulders. Well, you're a mom, so, you know. You will be so tired Shannon. This sign up for dinners will bless you.
Be sure to keep in touch on here.
Blessings and peace to you,
Kathy

I would suggest to get yourself 7 helpers and give every one of them a day to be helping you with your children. Then sign up about 5 more as alternates or helpers to help out with other tasks. Nobody gets thru this easily without help. You may even lose your ability to drive and speak. I lost my voice for about 2 or 3 weeks. I stopped driving about week 2 of radiation. Thats just me, not everyone stops driving. I wasnt in any condition being on some heavy meds to drive the 45 minutes each way to treatment. It hit me so hard that towards the end, I stayed in bed for about 20 to 22 hours a day. I was hospitalized for malnutrition and dehydration. Of course these things do not happen to everyone. I am not trying to scare you but I want you to see how debilitating oral cancer treatments can be. Its always better to over prepare than to be caught unprepared. Some patients sail right thru while others struggle, I was one who struggled. Please make sure you are taking very good care of yourself now. Push to eat a healthy diet with lots of calories. You need to be strong going into this so your body can withstand whatever treatment your doctors give you.

Best wishes!

Shannon - I'm just so glad you are getting such great support and suggestions! Another thing you might think about is making a spreadsheet with names of doctors you come in contact with and also office personnel with their names and phone numbers for you or for anyone else who is offering to help with daily trips/activities etc. And include medications, what they are for and what the schedule is for taking them. Include a section for comments/reminders. Being prepared like you are doing is also a good way to avoid some of the stress and to be on top of things. Make sure you keep in touch and let us know what's happening.

Shannon, I want to add my welcome. What you've been diagnosed with sucks, to be blunt. But we've all been down the road one way or another and we are 100% here for you and ready to help in any way we can.

Please keep us posted on everything that happens, and ask any and all questions. There are no such thing as stupid ones! (I should know, I was pretty stupid about all of it when I started out; whether I'm any smarter today is still open to debate)

Courage!