Hi Mark! My dad, whose name happens to be Mark, has SSC in his mouth. He had radiation last year, following a mandiblectomy and fibular free flap reconstruction and neck dissection. He had 30 treatments, with a total dose of 30 Gy. I think the dose is pretty specific to the type, stage and location of the cancer as well as other treatments you're having. Dad was also to receive chemo, which the doctors said would sensitize his cancer cells to the radiation, but he only did 1 cycle because he couldn't tolerate the side effects. He took gabapentin, and reported that it worked well for his pain, but pain is pretty unique to the individual and some things work for some people which don't work for others. He also had oxycodone and was offered a fentyl patch toward the end of his treatment. His first 9 treatments were not a problem, but number 10 was where he started to feel the effects. He did it without a feeding tube, and was able to eat sardines in oil and glucerna shakes the whole time. He got IV fluids for the first and second weeks.

If you have any problems with your teeth now, get them fixed before you start radiation. Dad had a tooth fall out after radiation and got a really nasty infection (which might have been a blessing because they discovered his recurrence before it was visible on scans while they were cleaning out the infection surgically). We were told that he could have had the bone in his jaw die from the infection, and that should he need dental work in the future, they would recommend he does HBO treatments first to lessen the odds of that happening. My dad did not have his dental work done, and his radiation oncologist advised us to get started on radiation without dental clearance since the time between surgery and treatment was longer than she would prefer, and did not explain this to us. Dad chewed tobacco for more than 50 years, so he had awful oral health to begin with, which is why I think he's had such trouble with his teeth. Other folks on here got flouride trays made and used them to keep their teeth strong. I'll let them tell you about that.

You got this, Mark. Stay strong. Have someone drive you to treatments so you can rest.


Last edited by Vicky1; 05-03-2019 07:15 PM.

Dad was diagnosed 2/28/18 w Stage 4, N0 Verrucous carcinoma (VC) an uncommon variant of SSC
Mandibulectomy and free-flap reconstruction 5/30/18
Diagnosis changed to SSC.
Began treatment of 30 rads and 5 Cisplatin Cycles on 7/18/18
Decided not to do any more Cisplatin after the first one.
Finished treatment on 8/31/18.
3.19 Abscess & Recurrence wide mouth resection
4.16.19 Scapular Flap Reconstruction surgery
9.6.19 Clear CT!
8.6.20 Clear CT!