Hello all. Hubby's surgery Oct. 17th went well, surgeon pleased with procedure and findings. We still await pathology report on removed tissues but surgeon said he did not see anything suspicious. Hubby is relieved it is over and looks forward to improvement, as do I. He will be in hospital for a week so a bit of a caregiving break for me although I visit him daily. I am trying to keep my clinical thinking mode in check but I probably do use it at times as a coping mechanism. Thanks for all your support, it does feel good.
In answer to your question Emmylou, my hubby is 67 years old. It does sound like both of our men are dealing with a similar situation.


Caregiver to husband Dx. Stage 4 SCC of gingiva with 3 nodes pos. Partial mandiblectomy with bone graft from iliac crest Dec. 2006. IMRT x30, Cisplatin x3. Completed Tx. March 15, 2007. Osteonecrosis & removal of graft & plate Oct. 2007. Recurrence of SCC Dec. 2007. Deceased Jan. 17, 2008.