Hi Marie,
Cancer is tough enough without having to deal with it during the "busiest" time in a womans life...........which is when she is raising her children. With you being so young, I imagine your children are also pretty young. I had a 9, 11 and 12 year old still at home (I was 41) and I had two grandaughters, 3 and 4 when I was going through treatment. I am here to tell you that it's hard but very, very doable..........and you will get through it just fine. You'll be tired and there will be days that the tiredness will require naps, especially during the last couple weeks of treatment and the first couple of weeks after treatment. Your neck will get burned but it won't halt your life. It's sore but doesn't get in the way of day to day life. I had a peg tube and used it as my sole source of nutrition from about my third week of treatment. I didn't try to eat, it hurt and the food tasted horrible. The PEG made life easier, and easier is what I needed at that time. I would suggest getting one. I did laundry, took the kids to their activities, did my housework. I would take a nap after treatment after I got into about my 5th week, and would take another nap later in the day. That is also when I started taking pain meds that also helped me sleep. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's no fun, but if you put your mind to it, you can continue to manage your house and your family.
Keep us posted and ask questions. When you feel scared, go outside and take a deep breath of fresh air, then come back to this site and read about all the MANY survivors!


SCC Left Mandible. Jaw replaced with bone from leg. Neck disection, 37 radiation treatments. Recurrence 8-28-07, stage 2, tongue. One third of tongue removed 10-4-07. 5-23-08 chemo started for tumor behind swallowing passage, Our good friend and much loved OCF member Minnie has been lost to the disease (RIP 10-29-08). We will all miss her greatly.