I am from India, 36 Male, Married, have a 5 year daughter + wife pregnant, smoker, chewed pan (tobacco) for 1 year before the ulcer began, moderate alcoholic.

4 months back i had small painless ulcer in the mouth, 2 months ago went to see a doctor, mis-diagnosed it as candidacies and sent me to lab to give culture for fungal growth. The ulcer has grown with pain in the mean time and the report came after 6 weeks - negative. GP referred me to ENT who took punch biopsy of Cheek HPE and the results came 06/02/08 as right lower jaw/ cheek SCC, Buccal Mucosa, suggestion was T2(3)N1M0. Was referred to Oncologist and the surgery is scheduled on 06/11/08, plastic surgeon wants to perform Micro vascular surgery i.e. to take a piece of bone from my leg and adjust in the mouth.

I was browsing the net and found this forum which gives lot of info, support and help - thanks to Brian and all. Doctors here are so busy that they wont have time to give much information. They said I will be alright after the Surgery and I might need radiation post surgery. They haven't discussed to me about the post surgery complications, side effects of Radiation/ Chemo etc. They just say that due to my age factor I should recover soon.

I have lots of questions and please guide me:

I haven't seen many Buccal Mucosa SCC cases in the forum? Is this cancer a rare one? Any prognosis/ survival stats available?
Post surgery effects like Bone replacement compatibility? Face dis-disfigurement? Chewing problems?
Complications of removing lymph nodes?
Radiation/ Chemo effects?

It would be of great help if anyone can guide me to obtain more info or material. I will be in touch with the forum. Thanks to you all.

Kum71,
I hate to say it but, WELCOME!
My best to you and your family and your unborn child.
If you put, "Buccal Mucosa SCC", into the search bar you will find everything mentioned about this on the site. I just did it in hopes to provide you with some info but, could never have come close to reading it all. As it usually happens here, people will read your post and offer you their experience, information and advice/opinion, in hopes you will absorb, learn or ask more questions providing us with more details. It's all good.
I am confident when I say that you will not find a more informed, intelligent, compassionate and caring group of people in such a forum as this. We are not a free for all here, the founder Brian Hill and his chosen group of administrators are quick to question and remove inaccurate advice and information.
I wish you well and hope that a better day is in your future, until then we are more than happy to be of assistance to you.
Cheers,
Mike

Kum,

One step at a time. Let's not discuss the effects of chemo and radiation until and if they decide that's warranted. You have enough on your plate to digest so hopefully some will post their specific experiences.

Kum.....sorry you are facing this experience, but you have lots of company, and most of us are doing ok after a period of difficulty.

If your doctors are discussing reconstruction, using your fibula (smaller of the two bones in the lower leg,) then they are planning to remove part of your jaw, presumeably some of the upper jaw, where the cheek attatches to the jaw.

I had this done, though I have not had reconstruction. Sometimes they do it at the time of surgery, and sometimes they wait, and sometimes the patient gets adequate comfort and function from an oral appliance called an obturator.

If you search for "maxillectomy," you will find more information about this. Another person with an upcoming maxillectomy from a different problem is screen-named "Nervous," and my recent posts to her have a lot of information.

I wish you the best. If you have a question that you don't find the answer for, feel free to post it.

--Colleen

Hi Kum,

Where exactly are u from in India ? I am from Mumbai. and a CG to my father.
whos the doc u are reffereing cause if he/she is not providing u all the answers then u might as well think of taking second opinion.It always helps to get a doc whith whom u can easily communicate. Trust me on this one.
Also Buccal Mucosa SCC i dont know much but am sure ppl here will help you alot.(my personal experience) and you have come to the right place !
Best of luck ! and as u said since ur young You have a good chance of absorbing the treatment quite good.

PS : Just let us kno your exact treatment so that we could help as much as possible.

Hi Avinash, I am from Hyderabad. I inquired Re my Oncology Surgeon and he is supposed to be the best in the City. I am not sure whether I can write his name in the forum. Wednesday is my Surgery. I will keep you posted Re developments. If you can send me more details or suggestions based on your experience it would be of great help. Thanks for your best wishes. Its already been more than a week and half after the diagnosis and the doctors say the surgery is inevitable. They say no point wasting time running for second opinion.

Thanks David, Collen, Mike and Avinash for your inputs. I will go through the info that you have mentioned. I will update the forum with my developments. Thanks to you all.

Hi Kum71

I also was diagnoses with SCC of the bucal mucosa. The same procedures were explained to me.

My treatment consisted of first radiation and 2 very strong doses of chemo. My doctors thought it was gone and I was cured, unfortunately I wasnt. From there I had to go thru surgery, which was to remove the tumor from my cheek. I did not need the major surgery with the reconstruction of both my face and leg. The major surgery wasnt necessary. You may want to consider getting a second opinion.

Best of luck to you.

who is this doctor that tells you its a time waste to get a second opinion ?
thats really strange...Anyways if your comfortable with this doc then its ok.
Also from what you have mentioned its surgery first n then Chemo/Rad ?

Best of luck for ur surgery tomorrow.I'll pray u come out of it with flying colors

hello Avinash,
I am kum wife. on wednesday surgery went success. It took 14hrs to complete. now he is fine . from yesterday evening he is speaking little bit. Hope everything goes well.and he recovers soon.

thank you
Kum Wife