Cancer is a hostile world but the people who visit this site are surely among the most courageous and compassionate people anywhere. I discovered you a few weeks ago after my husband was diagnosed with SCC in the area behind his right molars. You have helped me as we face our uncertain times. Until the surgeon is "in there" he will not know how much of the right lower mandible he will have to take or exactly which method of reconstruction will be used. We also don't know yet whether my husband will need radiation after surgery. My husband's response to all this is predictibly upbeat and quick-witted. When the surgeon told him for the first time that some or all of that jaw would have to go, my husband said "ok, then, where's my Darth Vadar mask?" The surgeon replied "They sell them down the street for $17.95 but they have a special for patients of the hospital." Where do these guys get this from? How do they keep it up? I'm more of a chronic worrier (I worry therefore I am) and have a much harder time focusing on the present and not worrying about the future. I know my husband's way is healthier and will help sustain him, but sometimes I can't get myself into that way of thinking. This is frightening and although we think his prognosis is good (no evidence of lymph node involvement or invasion of distant sites), the immediate future will be so very difficult for him. Immediate worries for me are whether the grafts for the reconstruction will heal properly (he is a somewhat brittle diabetic) and how we will manage when he is home from the hospital, which we have been told could be 2-3 weeks after surgery. I know that many, many of you have walked this road and you will inspire me. I may turn to you on good and bad days and I thank you in advance for being there. --Karen