Hi there, everyone,
I've scanned your boards looking for any insight or hope I can give to a friend and colleague at my former place of employment. The person suffering from OC is named David, He is a father of two beautiful young girls, a devoted husband, and an extremely kind, intelligent, and incredibly hardworking partner at an accounting firm. David was diagnosed with OC approximately 3 years ago. He had surgery to remove the sore on his tongue and likely some radiation. Not sure of initial staging-probably I or II. The cancer recurred this past January and has been staged as a Stage IV with metastasis to the lung. Lung tumor is "possibly operable" but dicey. He was at Sloan Kettering until yesterday, but they sent him home saying there was nothing more they could do. What!? He wanted chemo upon going in, but he's now too disoriented by all the sedatives and painkillers to advocate for himself. I know his wife is advocating for him, but I know she must feel overwhelmed. What do you all think? I think they (the doctors) are giving up too easily. Maybe I'm being naive, but he has everything to live for, and he wants to fight this. Or at least, those were his clear wishes when he went in to the hospital and they mentioned hospice. Please advise. My sister and I both worked with him and are horrified at what's going on. We think his wishes should be respected, even if it�s risky. It would appear that the greatest risk is not doing anything, since that seems to lead to certain death. Aren�t doctors obliged to follow the patient�s wishes?

Have him go get a second opinion from another CCC. I am in OK, so I do not about too many places up there, many people on here do.

I hope that Sloan Kettering evaluated potential clinical trials for your friend. You can obtain information at www.clinicaltrials.gov which is a service of the National Institutes of Health. I am now in my third clinical trial. My heart goes out to your friend and his loved ones. Thank you for advocating for him.

my husb had mets to his lungs. he had multiple wedges removed and the lower left lobe removed. chemo was of minimal help to us with regard to the lung lesions.
perhaps there is more to the story... are the lungs the only location with growth? how much of the lung is involved, etc.... lots of variables to consider

sounds like a 2nd opinion is in his best interests

Thank you very much for your kind advice, everyone. I am trying to get more information about David's condition and offer whatever help I can to David and his family. His and their burdens are just so great right now. Doing some of the research and options legwork are small ways that I feel like I am doing something. Noting makes one feel quite so powerless as knowing that someone is suffering and not being able to stop it.

Im sorry to read of your co-workers history. You are a very kind, caring person to try to help him and his family. You are correct in thinking his wife must be on overload. Who wouldnt be! There could be a whole lot more to this story than you may have been told. If he is having a recurrence of oral cancer, chemo alone will not kill the cancer. A second opinion cant hurt anything. Sloan Kettering is a top rated cancer center. Being in NY, there are also other top centers available. Here is a link to the list of top rated cancer centers.

http://oralcancerfoundation.org/resources/index.htm#centers


Best wishes to David and his family!