Julie, welcome to OCF. Im sorry to read of what you are going thru. Being a new mom is a tough enough job. Congrats on your upcoming baby. Is your surgery already scheduled? Do you know how much is being removed? My jaw was made of steel instead of using my leg bone. Since you are currently pregnant, I would think you are in your 20s or 30s, the younger you are, the easier it will be to bounce back.

I read some info about your type of disease from Wikipedia.... While these tumors are rarely malignant or metastatic (that is, they rarely spread to other parts of the body), and progress slowly, the resulting lesions can cause severe abnormalities of the face and jaw. Additionally, because abnormal cell growth easily infiltrates and destroys surrounding bony tissues, wide surgical excision is required to treat this disorder.

I have undergone a similar surgery last year for having SCC that was in my jawbone. This operation seems to be becoming more popular, over the last 6 months there have been several other OCF members with similar operations.

You probably will have a feeding tube and a temporary trach. If you can upfront ask your doc for a posse-muir type trach, you may be able to talk with it in. Im not exactly sure of the spelling. I was informed by another member to request this and it worked for me. The trach was a very short lived item.

Please ask questions. There are several active OCF members who have gone thru this. While it isnt a walk in the park, it can be done. Eat what you are able to now. It may take a few weeks til you are able to resume your normal eating habits.

Best of luck with everything.