I had squamous cell cancer of the tonsil and lymph nodes (both sides of my neck). I am 3 years post diagnosis.

My oncologist seems confident that the cancer will not return. However, I do recall him or the radiologist saying the radiation could give me some other kind of cancer down the road...

I have a former colleague that went through successful testicular cancer treatment just before my treatment. He was just diagnosed with prostate and breast cancer.

Another friend in my local SPOHNC chapter was re-diagnosed with liver and lung cancer recently.

Is there any data on other types of cancer occurring after oral cancer?

There may be some statistics on the main OCF pages. The further out you are from treatment, the less likely the chance of it coming back. Sorry to hear about so many people you know having to go thru the battle again. Its bad enough being a patient once!

Mike

I've seen a few studies that cross referenced the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program numbers but all they showed was that if you had oral cancer once, it could come back. Not exactly news. Since many people continue to smoke after cancer (amazing huh?) they can develop lung cancer.
Plus sometimes oral cancer metasizes and spreads to the lungs
So any numbers you find would just be SWAGs IMO.

Having had radiation twice, and over the "maximum", I had similar concerns but my RO said that its a theory that so far has not been substantiated.

As far as prostate cancer goes, every man who lives long enough will get it, but the vast majority die of something else.

While radiation is indeed the gift that keeps on giving, by itself oral cancer radiation TX has not been proven to cause other cancers in any credible study although of course the woo woo sites on the internet are full of such claims.

Thanks to you both.

Charm, what is the definition of 'over the maximum' as it pertains to radiation treatments?

I know I just laugh at people that are afraid of the airport body scanners, after my 35 radiation treatments.

Mike

There have been amazing advances in radiation therapy. That's why I used those quotation marks with maximum. My understanding from my RO is that generally for head and neck cancer, 77 GY used to be considered the "maximum". Beyond that dosage, too many bad side effects. Many oncologists still mistakenly believe that once you have had the "maximum" then you cannot be radiated again in the same area based on old outdated studies. But with the alternative radiation delivery systems to IMRT, including CyberKnife (sterotatic radiation), Proton Therapy, especially IMPT, etc , people like me who get a recurrence can now be treated again instead of dying. Sad to say, we still get posters here whose ROs are living in the past.

Different cancers in different areas may be different, I never researched that.

Since you mentioned scanners, they and Xrays CTs etc use a different measurement. In one sense, one Gy (Gray) equals one Sv (sievert) which is how they measure scanners (actually mili sieverts) but there are other factors than dosage Wikipedia explains it the simplest
[quote]The sievert (symbol: Sv) is the International System of Units (SI) derived unit of equivalent radiation dose, effective dose, and committed dose. Quantities that are measured in sieverts are designed to represent the stochastic biological effects of ionizing radiation. The sievert should not be used to express the unmodified absorbed dose of radiation energy, which is a clear physical quantity measured in grays. To enable consideration of biological effects, further calculations must be performed to convert absorbed dose into effective dose, the details of which depend on the biological context. This can be far more complicated than just multiplying by a weighting factor..[/quote] Best guess is that we've had hundreds of thousands scanner doses

I'm sorry if I come across as ignorant, but I didn't do any research on this. How would I know how many GY's I've been exposed to, if I had 35 radiation treatments? Is the 77 limit just number of treatments, or would I need to know my dosage?

Thanks!

Mike

Hey, if you don't ask questions, you can't learn. One of the great things about the OCF forum is finding out stuff. The only way to know your radiation dosage is to ask your RO. Each patient gets an individually tailored radiation field and you can't calculate dosage just from the TX number.
I had weekly meetings with my RO and he would go over how many Gy I got that week. It would vary by day. I got an average of just shy of 2 Gy a day for the IMRT with 40 TX for 72 Gy total. With the cyberknife it was 5 Gy a day for 5 TX for 25 Gy total. And since I had 97 Gy and am still here posting, it's obviously not a "limit: or the "maximum." although as I mentioned, people used to think so.

I know you are worried about a possible recurrence, but after three years you are on the right side of the statistics. Even if God forbid, it came back you could still be treated. We have lots of members in the recurrence club (NO, we are not looking for new members) who are still going strong.

Your radiation dosage is not some urgent information you need, at this point it's academic, so you could email or write your RO. If you are still seeing a follow up doctor, he or she could also access that information for you.
Keep the Faith
Charm

On AVERAGE most of us that had IMRT received an avg of 2 gys a Tx for 35 rad Tx's equalling 72 gys. I was told waaayyy back when I was treated 6 years ago that I was receiving the lifetime max rad and IF I had a recurrence there was nothing that could be done, radiation wize. Comforted me for many years post Tx.

In fairness to all the ROs still relying upon 20th century studies, I saw this 2011 abstract
[quote]Although the results of more recent studies using contemporary treatment techniques and conformal delivery methods have been somewhat more promising, the role of re-irradiation after previous full-course radiotherapy is still considered investigational by many. Numerous questions remain unanswered, and practical guidelines for clinical decision-making are sparse.[/quote]
Practical Considerations in the Re-...eck Cancer: Who, Why, How, and How Much?
Unfortunately, I can't access the full study (okay, I could but I don't want to pay $30). I love the title though.
Charm

Lets see - 62 treatments x 2 whatevers per treatment = OMG!! I certainly don't need to worry about standing too close to the microwave! I also glow so I am easy to see in the dark .

I too was told that I had had the maximum when I was diagnosed with my recurraance - even my surgeon thought I had received the lifetime maximum. My RO however decided otherwise (as there really was no other viable plan) and I am here today because of him. I happily posted today that I am 8 years since end of treatment for 1st dx, 4 years since end of treatment for 2nd.

Happy to hear about your 3 year mark. Continue to be vigilant - and never dismiss any option that will help you.

Donna