Welcome to OCF! Im sorry your father has been diagnosed with oral cancer. Its a terrible disease! I have had it 3 times and Im lucky enough to have gotten thru it. I know its not easy to go thru treatments but it can be done. We have had many older members who have successfully battled oral cancer and gone on to live full and decent lives.

I do not want to scare you but will be honest and give you some info about oral cancer. If untreated, oral cancer is especially harsh to patients. People who do not get treated go thru alot of pain and suffering. I almost didnt go thru with treatment the 3rd time I was diagnosed with oral cancer. I weighed my options but forced myself to at least give it a try. Better to try and fail than not to try at all. My family needed me so I did it for them.

Please let your father know we will help him thru whatever he chooses to do. Its his choice. I do hope he will reconsider and give treatments a try so he can continue with his life. The only things that will cure oral cancer are either surgery or radiation with or without chemo. There are other treatments available but they have not been scientifically proven to be successful.

There is alot of scary info about oral cancer on the internet. Im glad you found OCF so you can give your father factual information. Try reading the main pages, there are many pages of useful information there.

Best wishes with whichever path is chosen.