| | Joined: Oct 2011 Posts: 225 "OCF Down Under" Gold Member (200+ posts) |  "OCF Down Under" Gold Member (200+ posts)
Joined: Oct 2011 Posts: 225 | I don't want to go on about something I haven't a clue about, but I do know, like Cheryl, several people who have had, and survived thyroid cancer, and my impression has always been, again like Cheryl, that it is "do-able". I've been thinking abut you today, and hoping you're able to have some peace of mind, some down-time from the awful stress of it all. We all know what it's like - bloody awful. Hang in there, dear. Linda X
Brother 49yo DX 22/6/11 Tonsil SCC HPV+ Stage IV T4N1(?)M0. Carbo/docetaxel (Taxotere)19/7, 11/8 (with E-tux), 1/9; E-tux 11/8, 25/8, 15/9, 30/9, 14/10, 28/10; IMRT X 35 (70gy tumour;63gy nodes;56gy gen area) 19/9-4/11/11. Clear PET scan 1/2/12. 1 and 2 year post treatment checks good.
| | | | | Joined: Jul 2012 Posts: 3,267 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Jul 2012 Posts: 3,267 Likes: 1 | Sorry to hear of another cancer. There have been two increases in HNC, while others went down, and that is HPV related oropharyngeal, and Thyroid Cancer, especially the last in men, for unknown reasons. I hope your team comes up with an acceptable plan to eradicate this. Good luck.
10/09 T1N2bM0 Tonsil
11/09 Taxo Cisp 5-FU, 6 Months Hosp
01/11 35 IMRT 70Gy 7 Wks
06/11 30 HBO
08/11 RND PNI
06/12 SND PNI LVI
08/12 RND Pec Flap IORT 12 Gy
10/12 25 IMRT 50Gy 6 Wks Taxo Erbitux
10/13 SND
10/13 TBO/Angiograph
10/13 RND Carotid Remove IORT 10Gy PNI
12/13 25 Protons 50Gy 6 Wks Carbo
11/14 All Teeth Extract 30 HBO
03/15 Sequestromy Buccal Flap ORN
09/16 Mandibulectomy Fib Flap Sternotomy
04/17 Regraft hypergranulation Donor Site
06/17 Heart Attack Stent
02/19 Finally Cancer Free Took 10 yrs
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2013 Posts: 94 Supporting Member (50+ posts) | | OP Supporting Member (50+ posts)
Joined: Sep 2013 Posts: 94 | Hello guys,
Thank you for all the kind posts, it is much appreciated. My life has become a complete mess in the past couple of weeks, and today it just got worse.
Thyroid cancer is indeed very treatable. My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow,2/27. The doctors were very clear that this is not a recurrence of my SCC, but an independent cancer. They call it papillary, it is the most common type of thyroid cancer, with very good prognosis if discovered early. They will remove my complete thyroid tomorrow, put me on thyroid replacement hormone and most likely give me the radioactive iodine pill some time after the surgery.
There are two extra complications. One, they did an ultrasound of the neck to look at the possible lymph node involvement so they know if they need to do another neck dissection as well. The ultrasound has shown one suspicious node, very small (5mm), to small to evaluate based on the ultrasound, too small to do FNA on, and according to my surgeon, even too small to remove it during tomorrow's surgery. So I guess we will just follow it which makes me very nervous. The node is interestingly in level IV on the left side ( my tonsil cancer was on the left, thyroid is on the right), so if it turns out to be malignant, we even will not know which cancer it came from unless we can biopsy it. Very stressful.
To make the matters worse, yesterday I had PET/CT and CT scans as three month checkup of the SCC after rads ended. The good news were that, other than the known thyroid cancer, there were no other uptakes in the neck. The bad news were that an ovarian cyst discovered in October last year showed some uptake. Yes, I might have an independent cancer #3, this time ovarian. I need to have some followup ultrasounds as one can not do simple biopsy on the ovary and it is very difficult to diagnose it without very invasive surgical procedures that pretty much constitute the removal of the whole ovary. Needless to say, I am really at the end of just how much I can take. I know it is not cancer till the biopsy confirms it is, but so far every suspicious thing turned out to be cancer. Urgh...
36, female, left tonsil HPV+ SCC, T2N1
8/28/13 SCC in left tonsil
9/12/13 surgery:TORS and selective neck dissection (levels II-IV), 23 nodes removed
9/18/13 post surgery biopsy: 2mm clear margins, a 7mm lymph node positive in level IV, no ECL
10/28/13 rad begins, 30 treatments, tomotherapy
12/09/13 radiation ends!
2/10/14 papillary thyroid cancer
2/26/14 PET shows clear neck other than thyroid cancer, but with high uptake in an ovarian cyst
2/27/14 thyroidectomy
3/5/14 pelvic ultrasound
| | | | | Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 945 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 945 | Ambra
glad to hear from you but I wish you did not have such complicated news! I guess it's back to one step at a time. Hope that the thyroid surgery goes well. Please keep us updated.
Maria
CG to husband - SCC Tonsil T1N2M0 HPV+ Never Smoker
First symptoms 7/2010, DX 12/2010
TX 40 IRMT (1.8 gy) + 10 Cetuximab
PET Scans 6/2011 + 3/2012 clear, 5 year physical exam clear; chest CT's clear of cancer. On thyroid pills. Life is good.
| | | | | Joined: Oct 2011 Posts: 805 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Oct 2011 Posts: 805 | Oh my gosh....I cannot believe all of this. Good luck tomorrow. At least that will be done. Then I guess it is one step at a time. Keep us updated as things progress.
Will be thinking about you,
Kathy
Kathy wife/caregiver to:
Kevin age:53
Dx 7/15/11
HPV16+ SCC Stage IV BOT/R
Non smoker, casual drinker
7/27/11 Cistplatin, taxotere,5FU 2/3week sessions, followed by IMRT 125cgy x 60 (2x daily) w/Erbitux weekly. Last rad 10/26/11. Last Erbitux 10/27/11
PEG placed 9/1/11 Removed 11/8/11
Clear PET 10/12 and 10/13 and ct in 6/14
| | | | | Joined: Aug 2011 Posts: 269 Gold Member (200+ posts) | | Gold Member (200+ posts)
Joined: Aug 2011 Posts: 269 | Oh Ambra...breaks my heart to hear of all these complications. I so wish you didn't have to deal with all this. Like you know, it will be rough, yet doable, I pray you stay stong! I think of you all the time and so wish we lived closer.
Praying for all the best outcomes. Please keep us posted when you are up to it. As you can see we all care about you. xo
Nancy (53 at dx)
Metastatic SCC. Stage III. HPV positive with occult primary. N1, no ecs
7/1/11 - L-Selective neck dissection. Tonsillectomy. All clean. No rad, no chemo.
5/29/13 - Found primary
7/3/13 - TORS
7/8/13 - Emergency Surgery/Blood vessel burst in throat
8/9/13 - Peg in
9/3/13 - Radiation starts 30 IMRT, 60gy BOT, 56gy both sides of neck
10/14/13 - Radiation ended!
11/12/13 - PEG out!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 1,024 "OCF Kiwi Down Under" Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | "OCF Kiwi Down Under" Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 1,024 | Hello Ambra, gosh this is a lot for you to be dealing with. As the others have said, take it 1 day at a time . That way it is manageable. Good luck with tomorrow's surgery, I'm sure it will go well.
Update us when you can.
Tammy
Caregiver/advocate to Husband Kris age 59@ diagnosis
DX Dec '10 SCC BOT T4aN2bM0 HPV+ve.Cisplatin x3 35 IMRT.
PET 6/11 clear.
R) level 2-4 neck dissection 8/1/11 to remove residual node - necrotic with NED
Feb '12 Ca back.. 3/8/12 total glossectomy/laryngectomy/bilat neck dissection/partial pharyngectomy etc. clear margins. All nodes negative for disease. PEG in.
March 2017 - 5 years disease free. Woohoo!
| | | | | Joined: Jul 2012 Posts: 3,267 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Jul 2012 Posts: 3,267 Likes: 1 | Ambra, I'm sorry all this is happening to you all at once. As already mentioned, take one step at a time, and good luck with your surgery tomorrow. All the best.
10/09 T1N2bM0 Tonsil
11/09 Taxo Cisp 5-FU, 6 Months Hosp
01/11 35 IMRT 70Gy 7 Wks
06/11 30 HBO
08/11 RND PNI
06/12 SND PNI LVI
08/12 RND Pec Flap IORT 12 Gy
10/12 25 IMRT 50Gy 6 Wks Taxo Erbitux
10/13 SND
10/13 TBO/Angiograph
10/13 RND Carotid Remove IORT 10Gy PNI
12/13 25 Protons 50Gy 6 Wks Carbo
11/14 All Teeth Extract 30 HBO
03/15 Sequestromy Buccal Flap ORN
09/16 Mandibulectomy Fib Flap Sternotomy
04/17 Regraft hypergranulation Donor Site
06/17 Heart Attack Stent
02/19 Finally Cancer Free Took 10 yrs
| | | | | Joined: Jan 2013 Posts: 1,291 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Jan 2013 Posts: 1,291 Likes: 1 | Hi Ambra,
Thank you for updating us. Unfortunately, your new is so disappointing. At this point, I think all you can do is focus on one thing at a time and work through each one. You are young and your body is able to recover well so please keep your head up and hopes high. Look at Paul and others who have been through so much yet they are still here typing away.
Try not to look back nor too much forward, just take it one day/one treatment at a time.
Praying for the best for you, Don
Don Male, 57 - Great health except C Dec '12 DX: BOT SCC T2N2bMx, Stage 4a, HPV+, multiple nodes 1 tooth out Jan '13 2nd tooth out Tumor Board -induction TPF (3 cycles), seq CRT 4-6/2013 CRT 70gr 2x35, weekly carbo150 ended 5/29,6/4 All the details, join at http://beatdown.cognacom.com | | | | | Joined: Nov 2006 Posts: 2,671 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Nov 2006 Posts: 2,671 | Ambra - So sorry for all you've had to deal with, but try to stay focused on all the positives others have pointed out for you. Hope your surgery went well and more positives come your way soon. Please let us know how you are doing whenever you can. Lots of prayers and hugs going your way!
Anne-Marie
CG to son, Paul (age 33, non-smoker) SCC Stage 2, Surgery 9/21/06, 1/6 tongue Rt.side removed, +48 lymph nodes neck. IMRTx28 completed 12/19/06. CT scan 7/8/10 Cancer-free! ("spot" on lung from scar tissue related to Pneumonia.)
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