Ok. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but today the doc gave me plenty of reasons to panic.

My husband, Scott, had more surgery Feb 21 (exactly one month after major cancer removal), which included a re-resection of bone in his hard palate area that had a positive margin and a skin graft to the incision area below his ear. The area that got a skin graft had opened up and gotten pretty nasty looking two weeks after the first surgery, so after it cleared up docs decided to do the skin graft since otherwise there would be a sizable sink-hole in his neck below the ear. Well, one day post-skin graft, these little bumps started appearing around the bolster covering the graft and nearby on my husband's jaw. By the next day (yesterday, Monday, Feb 23) the area had started looking weepy and the surrounding skin was pulling apart from the bolster. It looked just like it did the first time that caused it to pull apart (they then said it was a bacterial infection). I called the nurse and doc-on-call three times yesterday; ultimately, they both agreed that maybe my husband had developed a reaction to the bacitracin ointment I was instructed to keep the bolster moist with. But this morning the whole thing had deteriated at least 60% from just overnight, so we made the long drive to the doc's office for him to see it in person. He took one look at it, said it was not an allergic reaction, and ordered a biopsy--which was performed right then and there by a resident--because he thinks the bumps could be tumor. I asked how they could pop up so fast, and how could there be so many? And how could there be more cancer? He said it happens that way sometimes, but we have to wait for the lab results before we do anything more.

I could not bring myself to ask what this will mean about further treatments or more surgery (chemo and maybe rad are planned in a few weeks). I am hoping like crazy that he is wrong. Has anyone ever heard of this? The area I am talking about is the same area where the largest of my husband's tumors was removed; it is also just below the area that was radiated just a year ago.

So not only are we waiting for biopsy on the margin of bone removed from my husband's mouth, but also the "bump" they took today. Prayers, please!

Christine