Hi BG82,

I too just joined here so Welcome to us both! I'm not sure what mine was rated. My RT Oncologist said something like T2 &???

And my cancer is really rare from what they tell me. But it sounds like you came out okay and lucky for you that they aren't having you do the radiation.

My tumors were low grade but still spread from my base of tongue to two lymph nodes. I'll have to ask what it's rated next visit.

And aren't you the one and same Brazilian girl from CSN? If so, it's good to see you over here.

Heal Well,

Tommy

Hi David, I had 57 lymphonodes removed. All clean, fortunately. Felt blessed for that... Cryied a lot. Happyness of couse

Hi Brian, how come you had three different cancers? Can u tell me about this? Oral cancer + 2 more cancers? Oh man, now I admire u so much.

I�m asking because I asked my doctor (I�d like to tell more about him, also a great story, he is the top Head and Neck in Brasil, write several books and had cancer... guess where? HEAD AND NECK! OMG!)if i had more chances to had other cancers as breat, linfoma, cervical, bones (YES IM FREAKING OUT) and he said "your risk are the same from anyone".

I�d prefer to think my risk is smaller than anyone since I already had this *hit.

Well, just curious Brian. If u can tell me i�d apreciate.

Yes. that�s me! I was at CSN too... but didn�t found any like me there. People is nice, but I think the "early cases" are not in that forum.

So, poorly differentiated seems u can beat with chemo and radiation. Hope you do well with those treatments... wish you luck and peace.

How old are you?

You shouldn't admire me. I didn't do anything but tolerate what the doctors did to me each time. I had little part in my survival of any of this.

I had non Hodgkin's lymphoma, tonsillar oral squamous cell carcinoma, and an esophageal adenocarcinoma. There is one more waiting in the wings, for a nice round four when it is all said and done. But any of this is just the luck of the draw, having good access to healthcare, doctors that knew what they were doing, others that caught things early, and so many other variables. Those are the things that kept me alive. In all this - and to oh so great a degree - I have been little more than than froth on the wake of life. (That probably won't translate well�) There wan't anything that I personally did that made me a survivor. And I don't ponder the whys of it all. That is a waste of time. I didn't engage in any risk factors that I knew of at the time such as tobacco use, or other excesses, except perhaps in my own view of my importance. (While an undesirable and unattractive quality I eventually corrected, not one that will give you cancer)


So you eventually come to terms with waves that come and go, and you just ride them out the best you can. The only constant in life is that there is no constant. Health and well being are like that.

I tought you also were a tongue patient. But I see you are in much more stuff than that.

Have you never asked the doctor�s why? My main issue right now is to guess if my body will become a "cancer vacation island" or if it�s a big shake that will be completely forgotten in 5 years.

The doctor also told me that after 5 years my risks are the same of anyone.

BG82,

I am a lot older than you. 57, which puts me at the age most patients get my kind of cancer.

Good to see you here and I hope you find this forum to your liking.

Tom

For most oral cancer patients the odds of recurrence decline sharply at two years and at five years. Missed micro metastasis rear their heads in the first two years, as do particularly aggressive forms of the disease. By 5 years, most of those kinds of things are out of the way, so survival numbers go up. But no one can know the meaning of most of the genetic predisposition's that make you who you are, to be protected from - or susceptible to, getting a second cancer.

I want to reiterated what Brian said in his earlier post: "I didn't do anything but tolerate what the doctors did to me each time. "
When you are staring at the survival odds, remember that they include people that didn't follow the doctor's suggestions - waited to long to start treatment, didn't get the neck disection, didn't stop smoking or drinking. At the end of the day, if you can say - I've given it my best shot, the rest is up to God or fate (depending on your belief), and I have experience some joy or beauty (you may have to work on this a bit) - it will have been a good and productive day.

My husband an I had a reminder of the other things that can get you on a trip to one of his trip for radiation therapy in a snow storm ... about a year ago. A big old SUV lost traction, and wound up coming towards us in our lane. My clever husband was able to avoid it - but it was a pretty scary minute. I don't know the secret of handling the fear of cancer like I do that SUV, but when I find myself, as a caregiver, worrying too much, I say - or it could be an SUV.

Best wishes to you, Brazilgirl. I hate it when young people have to deal with with this kind of trouble.

Hi, There, Brazil Girl,
Glad you found us, sorry you have to be here! I agree so much with what Maria has said. I am 2 1/2 years out and I am always thinking about what if it comes back. I always wonder about the odds, too. My husband and I also had an experience this summer similar to Maria's. We were coming home from an art show. It was hot, we had the car windows up, and the air conditioner was on. We got hit by a fire truck! We didn't see or hear it until we saw a flash of red and we were hit and ended up by the side of the road. We are so lucky to be alive. I got away with a bruised ribcage, my husband has a torn rotator cuff, and my car was totalled. But we are still here! So, I think my odds are pretty good right now. Good luck, and keep checking back with us.