ohk. sorry i must have read it wrong.

it definitely must help, being in familiar surrounds with people readily available. i was considering the idea of staying in the hospital if i needed treatment again. part of the daily stress was getting in and back everyday. but i guess i wouldn't know until i tried.. being in the hospital even longer each day would be difficult as well.
yeah, she (mum) was unbelieveable. not sure where i'd be if not for her, plus the rest of my family and mates. i'll talk to her about this site tomorrow. i think she'll enjoy having a look around like you said.

take it easy, i'm really tired so i'm off to bed.
i'll check back tomorrow
cheers,
dave

Chances are very slim that your cancer slides will test positive for HPV as it almost always targets the BOT or tonsils. Unfortunately you probably fall into a fairly new group of OC patients that we saw presenting themselves about 3 years ago and that would be people that were young, non smokers, casual drinkers and their cancers begin in the forward part of the tongue, as opposed to the BOT, but are HPV- and their cancers act as aggressively as tobacco related SCC.

No worries Dave! I'ts nice to have the support of people who have or are going through the same illness inspite of where in the mouth/neck the cancer strikes. And thank you for your well wishes..I intend to beat this sucker even though I know some days I will not want to go to get the treatment as I live 75 kms south of Perth which means I have to travel that distance and back for 5 days a weeks x 7 weeks! But, I will finish it!!

And yes, your mum does sound like a legend..this site is wonderful for carers like her. I believe their job is a lot harder than the patients..so here's cheers to all the care givers!

Take care and keep in touch.

Liza

Welcome Dave
I am truly amazed at your positive spirit with all you have been through. I think your attitude will carry you to a much quicker recovery than your Dr's expect! My husband also had a feeding tube through his nose for the first month and he hated it too! It actually fell out one day on it's own, very gross looking. So he was happy to get a PEG when the time came to switch. He is still using a PEG as he is having a hard time moving his tongue to control food.

We also live an hour from the closest TX site and I could not imagine driving it each day, that had to be hard. Luckily in the USA we have places called HOPE LODGE where people in treatment can stay for free and also an added bonus is you are living with others going through simular treatments. (You have your own room but share living & kitchen rooms.) In our case there were 6-7 others with tongue cancer so it was a real community of support for my husband and for me his caregiver. I feel it was one of the best decision we made to pack up and move there even though we were far from family and friends. Wondered it you have them in Australia?

Take care. Karen

Hi Dave, welcome to OCF! Its always nice to have survivors join. I saw the 1989 and hoped it wasnt for your age. I have a son born the same year. You are so young to have gone thru this. But that also has helped you to get thru the brutal treatments and surgeries a little easier than someone who is elderly (or even my age LOL). Congrats on the clear scan! As you found out, there are several members from Australia here.

Best wishes with your continued recovery!

Dave, welcome from California. You're a very tough and brave guy and have absolutely been through hell and come out the other end. I drove myself about 40 minutes to 31 rad treatments and barely made it, so in my book you're already a legend!

I'll keep my positive thoughts flowing across the ocean to you.

David 2

PS the good news: there are a lot of us Davids here at OCF; the name alone confers luck!

@davidcpa
thanks mate,
i think you're probably right. my 'ulcer' did start close to the tip of my tongue. and my cancer was certainly acting aggressively. i'll talk to my surgeon when i see him next, but i'm confident he's already aware of the results.
cheers,
dave

@ liza
no worries at all. i know you'll find a way to work through the toughest days of treatment. and it will be a huge achievement. you're very strong, to have picked yourself up for a 2nd round.

all the best

i agree with every word referring to the carers. such a tough job. beyond their wildest expectations i'm sure.an emotiional rollercoaster, that's for sure..

thanks again. and good luck! you deserve it.
dave

@karenj
cheers karen! you've been proven right. so far, i've gone beyond doctor's expectations at each visit, and hopefully i can keep that trend going..
the feeding tube is very uncomfortable isn't it! my doc's decided against the 'peg' because of my original 6 week treatment plan. but i'd had chemo, treatment, etc when i got the extra 3 weeks added on. i needed a peg, but got by (just) on the tube. they couldn't add the peg once i'd started treatment apparently. i haven't even seen what a peg looks like or how it works.sorry to hear he's using the peg still to eat. hopefully he strengthens his movement of his tongue soon and he can slowly work up to soft foods again.i consider myself lucky to eating the foods i am now.

the drives were pretty horrible, but it was my mum as my driver each day. she was their throghout everything. i couldn't have gotten their myself. not a chance.. we were offered partly paid hotel accomodation closer by, but at the time we decided to be home each day/night as the best move. if i have to go through treatment again, i'll seriously consider staying nearby though ! i didn't really meet anyone that i know of who also had tongue cancer. and your little community sounded almost ideal for going through treatment.


thanks for your reply and insight. much appreciated
cheers,
dave

@ChristineB
thankyou very much. i've had so many doctors tell me the same thing about being so young. i even once had a guy almost insist that i was a chain smoker, and smoked drugs in my youth. i told him, i'd only ever had one cigarette. i'm not even sure he believed me! luckily, he wasn't playing any part in my treatment. from memory, he was a part of the group giving me my ultrasound during treatment.

you make a good point. i was 21, healthy, active and i found it incredibly hard. by far the toughest thing in my life. i couldn't compare it to anything. but my physical recovery has always been faster than expected and i've got my youth to thank for that.

thankyou very much. the scan results were obviously a huge relief for myself, and all of my 'support crew'. it's good to see some other's on here from australia, but also people on the other side of the world as well. i'm glad i found this site.

cheers christine,
dave