My husband and I have been at the Cancer center of our choice for the last week.
Alan was diagnosed with oral cancer for the third time about a month ago.
We went to the clinic to find out what kind of cancer and how bad was it and what were the treatmwnt options. It was a roller coaster of emotions and tension. Now a week and a bit later we are home.
After finding our it is the same cancer he last had in 1991. It is in his tongue, ear canal, the new jaw bone from the reconstruction, the front of the mouth area and down as far as the larex. It is moving at an excelerated rate,as initially when the GP sent him to the ENT three months ago they only saw a patch on his tongue and a little on the back of his throat.
There was only one treatment option, an extremely radical operation taking the jaw bone , the tongue, the larex, part of the inner ear, and the lymph nodes on the right side. He would be breathing through a stoma and eating through a stomach tube. There would be no new jaw bone. He would be having troubles swallowing, probably drewling. Oh there were no guarentees that they would get it all and they still gave him less than 20% chance of surviving five years. Oh and by the by because of the radiation treatments he had before he may not heal so he could end up with open running sores and being in the hospital till the end anyways.
At first he decided to go for it but after some deep reflection and relization what it would mean and more descusions with the medical people he has decided to take quality of life rather than length of life.
I am glad. I was willing to support any descion he made but this one means more time for us. Instead of in the hospital we are planning a wedding with our eldest son, and a trip to the coast in July. He is looking at finishing off the workshop and completeing some woodworking prodjects he had been promising.
The doctor's said any where from three months to less than a year but at least it will be a family time not a medical time.
Sorry for the spelling errors.
I was hoping some one could give me an idea of what to expect roughly of course since each person is different
Thanks.
