My husband's radiation was done on the soft palate but the field included parts of the neck. When he had the radical neck dissection it took longer to heal and the skin is like a "tree trunk" His teeth were ruined and they will be removing all of his bottom teeth. There are currently no plans for a second reconstructive surgery. the surgeon told him his jaw would look like Jay Leno's. Good idea about the photos. I will take lots. He will have a trach while in the hospital. He still has his speech, albeit a bit garbled, but I'm not sure if he will have any speech after this surgery. We don't have kids, but we do have two large dogs that are very much a part of our family. Would you recommend that I have his parents come for the surgery and while he's in the hospital? There is a hotel on the property of the hospital that has shuttle service to the hospital and is an efficiency type set up. Do you think I will need more help when we get home? I am pretty confident my insurance will pay for home health as long as the Dr. orders it. I can handle most medical things...and not afraid to try either. I just want to be as prepared as we can be in a situation like this and I find if I adjust my expectations then I will make it through one day at a time...as we all do.


Caregiver to husband 53 SCC stage 3 soft palate 2011 Rad, recurrence tongue stage 4 2012 induction chemo, partial glossectomy surgery, cancer back left rad neck dissection 2013, more chemo, allergic to erbitux, cancer back 2014 floor of mouth and jaw, mandibulectomy scheduled 3/5/2014