That's good to hear and even better, you seem to be handling things well. Keep up the good vibes
We're thinking about you both.

Wayne

blc6571,

It sounds like a carbon copy of mine last year, BOT stage III/IV with spread to right side nodes. Hoping that all will go as well as did for me, so far. I wish I had found this site when this all started with me last spring. I didn't discover the site until I actually had completed all Tx but have still found it to be quite useful.

Good luck through your upcoming journey and thoughts and prayer will come from many.

Bill D.

blc,

You can probably expect no surgery and concurrent chemo radiation. Chemo most likely Cisplatin and Radiation most likely IMRT.

If they recommend Cisplatin, ask what % benefit it has over Carboplatin. Cisplatin can produce more side effects, especially hearing loss.

Ask Rad about protecting your saliva glands and teeth.

After you know for sure, repost and we'll give you more info on what to expect.

BLC,
I had a similar diagnosis as your husband 4 and 1/2 years ago and am doing fine. I hope that things go as well for your husband.
I live in a little city located within Houston, Texas near Rice University called West University Place. Most of the streets are named after universities around the country....we live on Lafayette street!

Best of luck,
Danny G.

Marvin had his apt. with the chemo doctor today. She will be starting him on a low dose of taxol and carboplatin. They dont want him on cisplatin because he already has hearing loss and they dont want to chance him losing more. They will do this every tuesday while he is doing his radation treatments. He will be getting his port in on next tuesday before we meet with the rad dept. They are also going to schedule for him to have a feeding tube put in just incase he will need it. They said he is stage IVA T2 N2. Will post more after tuesday visit next week. I am not sure what all the codes mine the t2 n2 but that is what they said to us.

Hi, blc6571, just wanted to chime in and tell you that my hubby had carbo\taxol too and thanks to good anti nausea drugs, had no issues with that part. He did lose his hair, but it has now come back thicker [and less gray] than before. Radiation will be tough and he will need your support and attention. There is lots of good caregiving info here, and those of us on that side of the fence will talk to you anytime you need us to. By the way, my daughter is an RN-working at Methodist in Indy- she has held my hand for two years. If you need a hug, let me know and I will send her to you. She used to live in Lafayette, but now resides in Franklin. [She loves to "have lunch" on her days off.] Good luck going forward. Amy in the Ozarks

Amy

Thanks for the message and support. From what I read you are going though rough times yourself. Our prayers are with you. My daughter went to Franklin College for 1 year and played basketball for them before switching to IUPUI to go into medical fields. She has one more semester. She is in Hostpial Administration. Was trying for Rad program but that is reaaly tough felt that God had closed the door on it so went with the hospital admin instead. We also have one son at Indiana state majoring in music ed and one who just recently graduated from purdue. Its a small world when you get to know people. Thanks again for your support. I am sure I will be posting alot once things get going. Marvin had open heart surgery in Feb 2004 that seems like a walk in the park compared to this.

Here's the link to Staging and 'T' terminology:
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/stages_cancer.htm

To get lots of information from this group, go to the bottom of the Forum page and click on the Foundation Homepage link; once there, browse through the Menu entries (and submenus) to the left. Even more info can be found by using the Search feature at the bottom of the Menu.

Can anyone give a general idea as to how much time Marvin may be off work. We are trying to figure out how to handle his time off. He is the main source of income for us. I work only part time. We have 2 kids in college that we pay part of their living expenses. Plus we are paying on our other sons loan after he has graduated. He will probable take that one over soon but for know we are paying. He will be able to get short term disability for 6 months but that will not be enough to cover our expenses.

Small world, indeed. My daughter graduated from Purdue, and worked in Hospital Admin for 4 years before going to nursing school.
As to how much work Marvin will miss, that's a real tough question. Altho most people experience the same side effects of radiation, the recovery period and the ability to work vary greatly. Depending on his job,he may be able to continue to work through the first few weeks of radiation, but after that, he is liable to feel lousy for a while [most people do] He will need time to rest and get proper nutrition. [I am glad to hear he will have a tube, just in case]. Keep us posted. Amy in the Ozarks