I was wondering if anyone here has had experience of oral cancer in combination with diabetes (type 2).

My boyfriend is one of those people. He has cancer, stage iv, of the upper part of his mouth, left side. He had surgery about a month ago in which they basically removed the left roof of his mouth, along with 4 teeth. He also, in the same operation, had reconstructive surgery where they removed tissue from his leg to close the hole in the top of his mouth. They also removed all the lymph nodes from the left side of his neck, but non were cancerous. (As a result, he does not need chemotherapy.) The cancer was stage iv because it was found in the bone.

So the next step is radiation, beginning probably within a couple of weeks. I am very worried about his weight. He has lost about 15 pounds since the operation. The radiation doctor wants him to gain back all that weight, but I don't see how it's possible in two weeks! His appetite is not great. I know that loss of weight is a problem during radiation, so I am very worried.

The fact that he's diabetic does make it hard to get calories, because he has to be careful about carbs. It's hard to take lots and lots of calories that don't contain too many carbs! I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this problem.

(I should add that he is not overweight -- he is 5'11" and currently weighs 149 pounds.)

Thanks!

Last edited by CynthiaD; 02-29-2020 08:32 PM.