Hello Nurse & everyone,
My name is ELENA & I wanted to give some tips on communication. During the time that you won't be able to talk. I know it can be frustrating. I have 4 suggestions.
1) boogie board. It's a 4x6 LED handheld board that cones with its own pen. You can write on it n at the push of a button it erases. I live with mine attached to me. (So to speak) try amazon it runs about $30 but sometines on sale for $15
2) the text to speak "FREE" APPS Are wonderful I use them alot. I simply write what I want to say. Then the voice speaks aloud. You get choices of cute accents as well. Lol
3) check into the SAMSUNG CELL PHONE with stylus pens. This cell phone is awesome. It makes my life so easy by using the stylus pen that's attached. Im not a fast typer so writing is so much faster for me. Theres an alternate writing app that simply allows u to write with ur stylus pen then transfers it into a typed out text, letter etc
4) the tablet.....you can download an app that allows you to write with your finger. I especially use this gadget for when im in the dark n i need to communicate. Such as church, movies, in bed....the screen lights up and when u write to speak for yo u r self, the person can easily read what ur writing .

I hope I covered alot for you. I found the NO VOICE was actually harder for me then NO EATING...I HAVE 1 SUGGESTION to help you manage ur feelings while u R unable to eat. Im an old fashion Italian girl. N what do Italians do the most????...we EAT...WE COOK. WE EAT.. I never got upset around my family's table u know Y...bcuz 10 min b4 we all sat down. I filled up with my ensure. So by the time I got to the DINNER TABLE i was so FULL...HAAAAA so I used the time to sit n enjoy my family......GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL . YOU ARE ALL TROOPERS...Best wishes to you all.

Hi, Nurse..... I hope your surgery went well.
Can I ask you a question? What were your signs symptoms?

MrsSmitty, not all patients will experience the same signs or symptoms. Many OC patients will not experience any symptoms at all until the OC is a Stage 4. Thats why its important to get to the right professional who can help you. Not every OC patient has an identifiable tumor the doc can see. Thats why they do all the testing to make certain there isnt something hiding somewhere. But this can be difficult to discover as the scans only pick up things bigger than a grain of rice.

Good Afternoon, Christine.
You are amazing at following up on peoples posts and comments! Thank You!
I posted a question or I should say a plea for advise last night and then today asked a posters what their signs/symptoms were. You responded to that.
Your response has me thinking....
I had a MRI of my head/neck about 1 month ago....In your opinion if there was something going on in either my submandibular gland and/or tongue would the MRI pick that up?
I am seeing an Oral Surgeon on Tuesday. I have been to 2 different ENTs. Called a well known medical center today asking to be scheduled with an ENT who specializes in OC, only to referred to a well known cancer center. They told me my best bet was exactly what I was doing.....
I look forward to hearing from you!

Welcome to the forum, MrsSmitty. Glad to see that you are finally going to see someone who can give you a definitive answer. I hope everything will go smoothly for you.

ChristineB is the heart and soul of this forum. We all are grateful for her support.

Mrs Smitty, I started writing this hours ago and thought I sent it but Im sorry to say it was just sitting here unsent.

Usually OC patients get checked with CT and PET/CT scans. At least I have and many of the patients Ive talked to over the years have as well. Your question is not as easy as it sounds. A grain of rice is so very tiny to pick out in an area bigger than your fist. Without a medical background I simply dont have the education, training and years of practice etc to be able to even make a guess. As we both know, this is much too serious to take a guess at. From my understanding, its not only the test, its also the tech giving the test, the tech reading the test and there could be even another who creates the lab report. Im very sorry but I do not know if an MRI would be the right exam for you.

This link should be helpful to you in learning about how to diagnose OC.

OCF Main Site --- Understanding/Diagnosis

How many days have u not had pain ?
May I ask u this ?

Leila welcome! Who are you asking your question to?

Please understand what one patient experiences another patient who on paper appears almost identical can have the exact opposite symptoms, reactions, etc. On our website you will see this phrase ... everybody's different. Its soooo true when it comes to oral cancer, treatments, recovery, recurrences, etc. For example... two patients who are the same age, sex, height, weight, similar lifestyles, tumor stage and location, even treated at the same facility can have completely different reactions to their treatments and recovery. One could sail right thru with barely anything more bothersome than a scratchy throat while the other patient could struggle every step of the way. This comes down to even more variables such as their family bloodlines and genetic predisposition. Im sorry if this doesnt help to answer your question. If you can please post some of your basic info in a new post in the Introduce Yourself section Im sure we would be able to help you with what you want to know.