 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | They wanted to pull all of my teeth also. I went to my own dentist and got a second opinion and decided not to pull any. I have been quite meticulous about cleaning and flouride treatments, etc. The main risk in keeping them is ORN (OsteoRadioNecrosis - literally bone-radiation-death) and there is no guarantee that, even with pulling them, you won't get ORN. ORN occurs less than 10% of the time. It is a lifetime risk I am told. I had everything x-rayed, cleaned and repaired before I started treatment and like Mark, they irradiated both sides. They have to scare the crap out of you because of disclosure rules and liability issues.
If they can keep the exposure below 6200Gy, ORN becomes even more remote of a possibility.
Gary Allsebrook
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Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
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"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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