Good afternoon, all -

I'm new to this website, and am glad to have found a place where so many have so much in common. My husband, Russ, is 51 and was diagnosed with Stage IV, present in the floor of the mouth, his tongue, and the left side of his jawbone. He had 3 rounds of chemo, and 7 weeks of radiation, finishing just before Thanksgiving last year, and appeared to have done "okay." In mid-December, he developed infections from the necrotic bone and tissue, and we were in and out of hospitals from January through mid-March. Late January, a surgeon attempted a mandibular resection to remove the necrotic bone, but found a large tumor that had been hiding behind the infection, despite having had a CT scan, PT scan, and MRI. At that point, we were told that we had 3 options: do nothing, have chemo every 3 weeks until it stops working, or go to the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, IN, and consult with a specialist in the field. As my husband is only 51, option 3 seemed to be the only one that gave us an option. During the 10 days at IUMC, he had a tracheotomy in preparation, and the next step was to have a carotid artery occlusion test, but discovered prior to that was that the tumor was wrapped around the carotid artery, making surgery impossible. At that point, it was basically "get your affairs in order" and he was given 3-6 months. He's now in hospice care, and I while have some idea what of what to expect, I was hoping others had been through this and could 'talk' me through the progression.



The cancer has permeated the skin, and he's developed huge ulcers on his chin that are open all the way through to the inside of the mouth, and they're getting larger by the day. He's pretty much lost the use of his left arm, and speculation is that the tumor had invaded the nerves that control it. His oxygen levels are hovering around 90-91, where 3 weeks ago they were a steady 99. His BP is all over the board.

Any info would be very much appreciated....