Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with stage 3 OC in February this year. I turned 34 just after I had surgery, I used to smoke but quit some time ago and wasn’t a heavy drinker and being a woman I wasn’t the stereotypical candidate so it took a while before I was diagnosed - I know one can’t dwell on the what ifs but I can’t help but wonder if the dentist who saw me in October 2018 had picked up on the cancer whether I would have more left of my original tongue or if I would have been spared the brutalities of radiotherapy!!

I had 2/3s of my tongue removed and reconstructed using a skin graft from my left thigh. Initially they wanted to do the skin graft from one of my forearms but I’m a goldsmith so my hands are my life and I couldn’t afford to risk losing all feeling in my thumb. The graft sight has been the least of my worries and apart from a very large scar i haven’t had any problems and was able to sit up crossed legged within a few days of my surgery.

I had a full radical neck dissection to remove all my lymph nodes, one of which had become problematic and was matted to my jugular vein. They had to remove a section of the vein, retie it and in doing so unfortunately damaged my nerve. This has caused me a few problems and I’m on pregabalin for this which I’m hoping won’t be permanent.

I had a tracheotomy for nearly two weeks and was in hospital for 2 1/2 weeks, I would have gotten out quicker if i hadn’t caught an infection in one of the drain sites on my neck so needed an IV course of antibiotics to fix that.

Luckily for me, the cancer hadn’t spread any further that this one node which spared me having to have chemotherapy. I did have to have 6 weeks of 30 sessions of radiotherapy, the side affects are brutal. I’m only 6 weeks since my final session so still suffering heavy fatigue, mouth ulcers and the horrid mucus like saliva which must be one of the worst ones.

I have lost a ton of weight and my main focus at the moment is nutrition and getting enough calories down me each day - when does this finally get easier? I’m so sick of it being the main focal point of every day and tired of the nutritional high calorie milkshakes and only being able to manage a soft diet. does swallowing ever become a mindless action again and does one ever get back to eating normally again? I had been doing so well but have found myself falling into a bit of a dark hole 🕳 in the last few days. I have suffered from depression in the past and desperately want to avoid going back on anti-depressants if at all possible.

I’m relieved to have found this forum as I haven’t spoken to any other OC survivors yet - as much as I know I would never have got this far without the amazing support network of family and friends which i’m blessed with - it’s impossible for any of them to understand this rollercoaster of a journey I’ve suddenly found myself riding. I haven’t yet had a chance to properly explore the forum and read many threads but just wanted to say Hi and introduce myself a little so HELLO 👋😊