Hi,
My name is Kelly and my Mom was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue last November. She went through having her tongue removed, free flap surgery, chemo and radiation.
Now it's 7 months later and the cancer has returned as a stage 4 carcinoma. She went from 1 small lump on her chin to 8 masses across her neck in a matter of 10 days. The original plan was to remove her jaw and do reconstructive surgery but that has now changed. She has dermal metastsis and a mass in her chest. The doctors are recommending that she begin another round of chemo and electron radiation to slow the progression but they have told us that there is no cure at all. She had laser surgery just this weekend to attack all the tumors that are spreading across her neck and will have to go through this procedure as needed to keep the tumors they can see externally in check.
The final word on all this is that the doctors have given her 6-12 months to live.
I am having a VERY hard time with all of this. I can't sleep, eat or even seem to hold a normal conversation without breaking down. I'd really love to talk with someone else who is going through this. I feel totally alone right now and absolutely useless in helping my Mom.
Please, if you have the time, send me a note at
[email protected] and let me know that there is someone out there who knows how I feel and that I'm not just the freak on the side having a total melt down.
Thanks for your time,
Kelly