Hi Jackie,

She is going to the Cancer Center this week and getting a CT next week?

In our situation, before my husband was seen by the cancer docs, he had a CT and a full body Pet Scan done.

The CT scan will let the docs know if there is any nodal involvement and the Pet Scan is to help them assess if there is cancer anywhere else beyond the biopsied area.

Without this info, I do not know how much they can do at the first appointment. Do you have the names of the cancer docs she will see on Friday? If I were you, I'd call and talk to the docs themselves or their assistants or nurse practitioners to make sure they know you don't have the scans in hand. They might be able to help expedite the scans which should expedite the treatment plan.

Although keep in mind, I am only speaking from my experience with my husband...I have only gone through this one time (thankfully). Others might have had different experiences.

I am glad your mom is being treated at a Cancer Center.

I'm assuming that her biopsy showed she has SCC (squamous cell cancer)...did they tell you if it was well differentiated or poorly differentiated?

A good Cancer Center should have a tumor board that meets to discuss treatment plans for each individual patient. At a minimum, the tumor board would include a surgeon, a Radiation Doc and a Chemo doc.

I am not a medical person. So, from a layman's perspective there seem to be 3 options with Oral Cancer...the option(s) your treatment team presents to you will be based on your mom's specific situation.

1) Surgery only--if the area removed shows clean margins around it (no cancer cells).

2) Chemo and Radiation. Generally Cisplatin or carboplatin...sometimes Erbitux...along with 6 or 7 weeks of daily radiation. In some situations, like my husband's, this could elevate the need for surgery...and in others, this type of treatment will shrink a large tumor down before surgery. Although, my understanding is that surgery post radiation has some extra difficulties associated with it as the radiation is hard on the tissues and muscles.

3) Sometimes people need a surgery...and, then without clean margins they have to do chemo and radiation afterwards.

I think in the past, places would do radiaiton treatments without chemo. But, you would never do chemo without radiation as they haven't figured out a chemo that will truly kill these kind of cancer cells without the assist of radiation.

This probably all sounds scary, and it is. But, it is do-able. And, as you can tell many people on this forum have gone through the treatments above and are living full and productive lives.

At your first appointment, if your mom is in pain, make sure that they know this. No one should be in a lot of pain prior to or during treatments.

And, if your mom has anxiety or depression over this, get something for that too.

Depending on the comprehensive nature of your cancer center, they may discuss dental work with you or you may need to make a separate dental appointment. On occasion, some people need to have some teeth removed as part of their treatment plan...(my husband did not). If Radiation is going to be part of the treatment mix, you will want to consult with a dentist regarding fluoride treatments or trays too.

They may get into discussions of things like feeding tubes and/or Pic lines or ports. While my husband has neither, there are days I wished he had both!

I hope this helps.

Why do you have the gut feeling the cancer is advanced? Do you know if she has any swollen lymph glands?

It's really hard not to think the worst possible scenario when you are first dealt the "C" card. But, it is possible that your mom's cancer was caught early.

I wish you and your mom the best too, I look forward to hearing more about the upcoming appointments.