Hello to all the people out there who also have had their lives changed by cancer. My husband is the love of my life and an amazing painter.

Question:
Is waiting 8 weeks from our first visit to the ER with cancer 3rd to 4th stage squamous cell carcinoma a reasonable amount of time to wait for surgery? My husband wanted to understand the rate of growth and spread of his cancer better. Is there an average rate of growth for a healthy 61 year old man? I wouldn't want to fail him by waiting too long, I am surprisingly optimistic when I envision my husband's recovery but I wouldn't want to overlook any step that could be done faster and affect his success rate.

Current Overview:
It is Oct. 12, we saw our surgeon on Oct. 2. My husband's tumor has been growing steadily, it has grown by 1/4 in the past 10 days, the pain is digging in and throbbing and his stamina is diminishing dramatically in the past 5 days. He was put on bata blockers which is triggering his asthma and he is coughing and has less saliva.

My husband's operation is booked on the 24th of Oct. He is beginning to worry that it will spread through out his jaw, lymphatic system or his lungs in the meantime. His surgeon and the specialist team are extremely competent. We are worried that because only one emergency surgery of 10+ hours are scheduled every month that we are losing the battle to time. He will undergo a partial left mandible reconstruction, heal for six weeks then undergo five weeks of radiation(25 treatments). A month to five weeks after the surgery we will meet with the surgeon to go over the cancer tissue analysis.

Prognosis and History:
Growth noticed in early July, was probably there in June or earlier 2013. 8 August, Dentist extracted tooth and prescribed antibiotics. 1 September went to Emergency. Biopsy 6 September, 10 CT scan of head neck and upper chest. 17 September got diagnosed with 'Invasive Moderately Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma' on the left mandible- at least 3cm in the bone (2.2 x -.6 x 1.3 cm). (Necrotic)(exophytic) Ulcerating 3cm mass involving the left posterior alveolar margin of the mandible extending to gingivobuccal sulcus area along with a very small jugulodigastric node. There are bilateral small jugulodigastric nodes less than 10 cm. multiple bilateral subcentimeter nodes are noted (up to 8-9 mm)

Bilateral submandibular and parotid glands are unremarkable. Post nasal and oropharyngeal air passage is normal. The lateral pharyngeal walls are symmetrical. Mucous secretions are seen along the anterior aspect of the epiglottis. Parapharyngeal fat planes are preserved. Vocal cords are symmetrical. No significant abnormality is noted in the thyroid. Visualized lung apex are normal.

Is drinking wine still OK? It soothes his pain. Also he had been a smoker since the age of 15 and quit after we married just over three years ago. (Started using a lot of nicotine gum)

Thank you, best wishes to all, Sophie

husband 61@diagnosis painter
6/9/13 Exophylic invasive SCC IV(ext.gingivobuccal) 3cm+ mandibular/lytic/erosion, jugular/node9mmshort-axis
17/9/13 Dx(moderately aggressive)
24/10/13 left madiblectomy, mod radical neck disct, leg flap, NGtube
2/01/14 (30 tx)rads 60gy
N2b (2nodes under jaw) (rem. in tiny nerves) (rem. 30 nodes)
Clear margin, close 2mm inner cheek
15/05/14 cellulitis
3/12/14 Chest CT Clear
27/02/15 cellulitis
8/6/15 cellulitis
10/6/15 Osteomyelitis