I was here a couple weeks ago asking for some info for my friend.it turns out thather husband does have oral cander. They got the results Thursday and on Tuesday they will be going to Columbus Ohio. (a 1 hour drive, not bad) To a head and neck cancerplace I guess. I really don't think she knows how serious oral cancer is. I have a feeling it is more serious than she thinks anyway. (but I could bevery wrong about how she views it or how serious it is. I haven't been able to find any survival rate type of information)

So, I will send her here. Hopefully she can get some good advice and support to get her moving on this.

Her name is Lisa.

Please tell Lisa to join us here.. we will try to help her with infomation and support where we can..
Helen

Cancer is serious, very serious. It is not to be taken lightly.. Odds are she is in denial, more likely...

Tell Lisa and her husband to check this website out. The intro to the website is very sobering. I hope that they caught the cancer early. We are here to help in any way we can. We've all been where her husband is in some respect.

Lynn

Kimberly,

I am sorry to hear the news. I can tell you are hurting as well. Lisa is very fortunate to have such a loving friend by her side. She will need a lot of support, too. Please direct her and her husband to this site where they will be welcomed with open arms.

Ed

I have another question. She said that that biopsy showed it was cancer. But she didn't have any informatiuon about size or stage or anythng. The biopsy was done by an oral surgeon. I just assumed they would be able to give her more information. does he need to have a biopsy from a cancer specialist to get the information on size and stage?
And has anyone heard of the cancer facilties in Columbus Ohio?

Thanks everyone for all the info and kind words. We are leaving on vacation this week and I feel almost guilty leaving at a time like this.

It was my understanding that the staging is not done via biopsy. It is determined based upon the size of the tumor. This is determined by phsycial exams (touching) and/or imaging tests (such as MRI, CT, PET scans) and/or surgery.

While I intellectually understood my initial diagnosis, the mental realization did not hit until after the surgery. Had it hit anytime prior, I wouldn't have properly handled the necessary decisions. Hopefully your friend is undergoing something similar, opposed to not realizing the severity of this disease.

The people here took great care of me these last few weeks. There's no question in my mind they will take care of her as well.

Sabrina

Kimberly,

The initial biopsy only confirmed there is cancer. Your friend's husband will now go through more tests to determine where the primary tumor is and if it has spread. There is a lot of learning to do in a short period of time. Often, it is useful if only for peace of mind to get a second or third opinion as to treatment possibilities after understanding what exactly they are facing. Have them study a lot of the info and links on this site and start asking a lot of questions.

Ed

Kimberly,
My hubby was diagnosed with tongue cancer after they took a biopsy. However, it was two weeks later before our consultation on staging and the plan as far as surgery, etc. I believe between those times he had a CT scan and a chest xray. So we didn't know for two weeks how bad it was and what it all entailed.
Thanks and prayers are with you and your friends.
Debbie

Kaber:Tell Lisa to visit this site. It is very informative regarding survival percentages, recurrances, size, etc. I was a stage IV victim of neck cancer discovered in 10/03. My primary site was initially unknown which gave me a 15% chance of survival. However, as time and treatments went on, directed by excellent medical professionals, my survival persent grew to about 85%. I recently completed treatment, which was surgery, called a modified radical neck dissection, after 35 treatments of radiation and 3 chemotherapy treatments. My labs came back after the surgery totally negative. Not a drop of cancer left and this after a stage IV, 3.5cm tumor in II lymph node. So no matter the type of cancer, your friends husband can beat this with a positive attitude and a good cancer center medical team. This also includes dentists and whoever else is needed to get the right things done to maximize treatments. Interestingly, my wife did all of the looking on this site as I did not want to know what was coming. I knew I could take it day-to-day, but not if I had to anticipate what it was going to be like 7, 10, 20 weeks in advance. I didn't start reading this until my radiation and chemotherapy was completed and I was waiting for the surgery (which cannot be done until at least 6 weeks after rad). So Lisa's husband may not want to look at this site until later, but Lisa needs to in order to know the importance of all of the treatments and pound it into his head if needed. I needed my wife to keep me on the right path a lot, but could not face the future knowing what was coming. How blessed I was to have her with me through this, but after 24 years of marriage, I knew that going in. At any rate, Lisa should check this site out to help her husband get the best possible treatment.
Regards,
Kirk Georgia