[quote=ChristineB]Welcome to OCF! Im sorry to read about your brothers situation! Going thru oral cancer (OC), treatments and recovery is difficult enough with all the side effects most patients go thru. His headaches may or may not have something to do with OC. Please understand our groups is made up of patients and caregivers... NOT medical professionals. We do not have years of medical school or clinical patient experience to be able to diagnose anyone, especially over the internet. Without being medical professionals we are not qualified to guess what (if any) pre-existing medical condition would be the cause of his headaches.

Theres so many variables that could be causing his headaches. If he has not discussed his headaches with his medical team, he should. His doctors know your brother and his medical history the best and hopefully will quickly figure out why he's having the headaches. Your brother could need further tests done to figure out the cause of his headaches. Since he was just diagnosed and went thru his treatments last year, he is still in his recovery phase. It takes OC patients after finishing radiation a full 2 years to be completely recovered. Being diagnosed almost a year ago, then surgery and rads Im guessing he would only be about 5 or 6 months into his recovery. He still has a whole lot of recovering yet to do! He must focus on his intake and hit his daily minimums of 48-64 oz of water and 2500 calories every single day. I suspect he had a really hard time with rads from what you wrote as many of us also have gone thru. The headaches could be something as simple as not getting enough water to drink and he's dehydrated but that is just a guess. This is why I suggest he talks openly and honestly with his medical team... sooner rather than later.

Best wishes!!![/quote]

ChristineB. Thanks for the welcome! My brother has spoken openly and fully with his doctor. So far his doctor has not found a solution to his headaches, and he has been working on it for a few months now. No drugs give him any relief. I understand the patient, caregiver, medical professional differences. I have found that getting input from people that have went through something similar to be very valuable, and that is what I hope to find here. Your statement "He must focus on his intake and hit his daily minimums of 48-64 oz of water and 2500 calories every single day" is the kind of help that I need. It is hard for him, because he has not taken any real food for about a year now. Just the bagged stuff or whatever that they give him to push into his stomach through a feeding tube. He did loose about 30 pounds through the whole diagnosis and treatment period. His weight has stabilized, so I think he is doing OK but will ask him. Thanks!