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Joined: May 2007
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efab Offline OP
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Joined: May 2007
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Dear Amy,
I appreciate your help...but I can't help feeling that making sure...by asking questions and getting 2nd opinions can and will impact what happens in the future.
printing relevant pages is a great idea...thank you.
as for getting organized... i am trying

I am sorry for your loss...efab


Efab
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 446
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Efab,
Listen to AMy. She's a smart lady and knows what she's tlaking about.

I had radiation after surgery (mine was 17 hours...talk about being thrown for a loop!)

The "flap" they referred to is either a tissue- only or a tissue and bone transfer from one part of the body to another, in this case to the face and jaw.

Have they said anything about a possible mandible or palette involvement? This will dictate where the flap is taken from.

In my case, they removed 40% of my jaw. The flap came from my lower leg. They removed the fibula for use in rebuilding my jaw, however the tissue they removed didn't provide adequate bloodsupply for their needs. To get that, they did a second, tissue only flap from my forearm. This also necessitated some skin grafts, which to be honest were the worst part of the ENTIRE surgery.

Radiation most comonly used for Head and Neck cancers seems to be IMRT, which is highly precise. I've heard a bit about the gamma knife, but not a lot in this context.

Your husband sounds to be a lot like me. For the first couple of weeks after I was diagnosed, I couldn't even type in the word "cancer" on the computer without having an anxiety attack.

Once I did, I started to learn, and to develop the tools I needed to fight this beast. He will get there, just give him time
Wayne


SCC left mandible TIVN0M0 40% of jaw removed, rebuilt using fibula, titanium and tissue from forearm.June 06. 30 IMRT Aug.-Oct. 06
Joined: May 2007
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efab Offline OP
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Dea Wayne,
Hope you are recovering and coming back to yourself.
We met with the plastic surgeon who is the chief of staff for plastic surgery at sloan...dr. cordeiro...he explained about the flap and expects it to be soft tissue only.
He floored us when he told us about the extended time frame for recovery...and that he may or may not be able to speak again.
are you able to speak?
we meet with the surgeon tomorrow and will learn more. surgery is on the 30th.
problem is he doesn't believe what the drs say...he has had THREE totally different unrelated cancers in less than 3 years...and now a recurrence. i don't know how much more he can take.
efab


Efab
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 446
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Efab

the recovery has been much longer than I expected it would be. I'm nearly a year post surgery and I can only go for about 4 or 5 hours without needing a rest.

I am able to talk, chew...everything. The surgical scars are fading really well..unless I point them out, people don't even notice them. I really feel for your husband. I can't imagine having 3 different cancers so close to one another. I understand him starting to lose faith but he has to work hard to keep his trust in his Doctors; they are his BEST chance of beating the Beast
Wayne


SCC left mandible TIVN0M0 40% of jaw removed, rebuilt using fibula, titanium and tissue from forearm.June 06. 30 IMRT Aug.-Oct. 06
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