Ruby

I doubt you will be "thrown off" the OCF forum for being so depressed that you want to die and are hoping to have a fatal oral cancer. Pushing fake cures, trying to sell something, promoting new age woo woo instead of radiation and chemo, now those are the kind of things that have posters removed. If everyone who ever questioned whether or not the treatment and all the complications were worth it, or if everyone who had ever asked themselves: what if I just let nature take its course were to be "thrown off", we wouldn't have many members.
You do sound clinically depressed and should see your GP if only for that.
Now as for your question:
[quote] What I would like advice on is, if it is oral cancer I'm dealing with what can I expect in the way of progression of the disease? How painful a death am I looking at and what is the normal time scale from diagnosis to death if untreated?[/quote]
Well, it depends. If you do have oral cancer and do nothing, it will kill you in time. How long? Depends on whether you are Stage I or Stage IV, if the cancer has spread etc. For my Stage IV, big old tumor, I was told one year. While it is a painful death untreated, and will progress to the point where you cannot eat or talk, if you get into a hospice towards the end and get adequate pain medication, my understanding is that it's doable.
Your post screen name is right in line with the lyrics of the song of the same name: RubyTuesday: one of my favorite Rolling Stones tunes
[quote]There's no time to lose, I heard her say
Catch your dreams before they slip away
Dying all the time
Lose your dreams
And you will lose your mind.
Aint life unkind?

Goodbye, ruby tuesday
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day
Still Im gonna miss you...
[/quote]

I;ll bet your daughter will miss you too if you go that route.
Charm

Last edited by Charm2017; 01-02-2013 01:52 PM. Reason: typos

65 yr Old Frack
Stage IV BOT T3N2M0 HPV 16+
2007:72GY IMRT(40) 8 ERBITUX No PEG
2008:CANCER BACK Salvage Surgery
25GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin
Apaghia /G button
2012: CANCER BACK -left tonsilar fossa
40GY-CyberKnife(5) 3 Carboplatin

Passed away 4-29-13