Hi guys. I�m sorry it took me so long to get back to the site. my father had previously battled throat cancer, in which he lost his voice box and was left with a stoma. he actually bounced back from that very well. it was in 93. he also has bladder cancer. that is being treated ongoing with radioactive pellets in his bladder. the newest issue is his tongue. he had been having trouble swallowing for almost a year. he went in 2 or 3 times a month, but nothing was ever discovered. they thought it might be arthritis growing into his tongue from a vertebrae. finally, a doctor literally put his finger down my father�s throat and felt a mass. they did a biopsy and discovered it was a cancerous growth. when he was initially diagnosed and had heard that he would lose his whole tongue and would also have to have a permanent feeding tube, he was going to pass on the treatment and let nature take its course. However, he decided he wasn�t really ready to give up, so he elected to have the Full Glossectomy. His main concern is the mucus buildup in his mouth. Since he will no longer be able to swallow, he is concerned about how that is dealt with. He seems to be in good spirits. He will be having the procedure done at the VA hospital in Pittsburgh, and hopes to become a full time volunteer there once he is back on his feet. I can tell, though, that the closer we get to the operation date, he is becoming more fearful and unsure.
The operation is actually tomorrow, April 3, 2012. We shall see how it goes.