I get confused where to post things, but we are just going along here until our January 20th appointment at Roswell. I appreciate all the kind comments and welcome posts, thank you, they mean alot.

My husband, age 66, a former smoker (quit in 1974) and occasional drinker, had Photodynamic Therapy on December 8th at Rowell Cancer Institute, in Buffalo, New York.

He has to abrade the area with a sponge brush each day and uses the lidocaine squish. He is off the pain medications except taking something at night.

Our first post operative appt. was a week after the procedure - and we will see the Doctor on January 20th, 2011. At the end of 3 months, they do another biopsy. At the time of the procedure, they retested the lymph nodes and they were clear and the doctor was going to remove the sentinal node, the one he felt it might travel to, but after the testing that morning with a dye injected in the area, this done at the Nuclear Medicine, he did not remove the lymph node.

My husband is eating well, and I ordered the Carnation Instant Breakfast from Amazon but it won't ship until January 7. It is the enhanced CIB - and evidentally is hard to buy except with an order at a pharmacy or on line.

He also drinks a protein shake that my son, who has canisters of products, that add weight. I do notice that he has lost weight, though, in spite of eating well. He still has to drink with a straw.

I talked to him about a second opinion and see (from reading here) that there is a list of best hospitals and also according to your type of cancer. He wants to wait until the three month biopsy and see what that shows.

What worries me is the day of the proedure, the doctor said that the tumor was deeper than they thought and might have to be redone in three months. I told my husband this as I wasen't sure that he knew that. Does that mean the they already know that they did not reach the entire area?

I feel as if we are wasting precious time, if this is the case. My husband feels that we have to give this a chance and also he is unable to really open his mouth very wide.
He has faith in Roswell and we are very lucky to have it in our hometown. There was another person who posted she was from Lockport originally.

I am sorry I haven't answered all your kind posts individually or acknowledged the direct responses - it is a bit overwhelming for me to know where to look first and where to post.

Just know that we appreciate everyone here and all the support and send prayers to all battling this disease. We are together.

Darbi