Ken,
I have three grandaughters, Kayla 6, Shelby 5 and Mia 3 months and they are the joy of my entire family. I also have a 10, 12, 14 and 19 year old still at home so our house is always full. We have three daughters that live on their own now although they live within miles of us and are "home" every day.
When I had my surgery my middle grandaughter, Shelby, was 3 and I worried the most about her reaction to my changed appearance. I still remember how I felt when I came home and she looked at me for a minute then asked if I needed her to "kiss my boo boo". She took an active role in caring for me and still does, bless her heart.
Our children monopolize our lives but our grandchildren monopolize our hearts, that's for sure.
Take care Ken!
Minnie

Hi, Debbie... and thanks! It sounds like Dan was helped by the chemo and radiation, but even they can't keep us from the flu. (shrug) I picked up a mild case during Thanksgiving festivities myself, but I figure it was a fair trade for the time I got to spent with friends and family. I seem to have shaken it, though my wife has had a relapse or two. I hope Dan shakes the flu soon. How is he doing otherwise? Just as important, how are you doing?

Ken

Thanks, Kirk. Every prayer helps.

And thank you, Jack. I look forward to contributing whatever I can.

Cathy, you said, "Many of my happiest and most fulfilling experiences have been in the years after cancer...." I am encouraged to hear you say so, and inspired to make it so.

Ken

Minnie,

Wow! Little Shelby gave you big medicine that day, and since. Unconditional love is truly amazing.

My kids are both in their 30s. I can only imagine what it would be like to have 2 tweens and 2 teens at home during recovery.

Congrats on the 18 months. I got sidetracked by radiation damage and wounds that wouldn't heal. HBO treatments this fall seem to have helped a lot... I even got my saliva back in time for Thanksgiving. Ho boy, did I give thanks for that one. :-)

Ken

Hey Ken,
I do believe that I would have been less emotional during treatment if I had been older and my kids had been older. It affected my girls still living at home in such an intense way and it was unavoidable. But, it has made them stronger and their character deeper.
I also had HBO treatment as I had to have a tooth pulled last April. I did 30 "dives". It was time consuming and my eyes haven't been the same since but it was worth it.
A huge toast to saliva, glad you got some of yours back!
Minnie

Minnie,

I'm thankful to take the good with the bad. Strength of character is a good thing. Let's hope we're all a little stronger in that department.

I live on an island in Puget Sound. It's 35 minutes to Seattle by ferry and 17 blocks uphill to the med center where I had my HBO treatments. I decided to make the most of the situation by walking to and from the clinic. I'm happy to say that, in addition to the return of saliva, an open wound I'd been fighting for more than a year is healed. I'm a bit stronger in the walking up hill department, too.

Yes, HBO was time consuming (6 hours per day from my house and back, times 40 dives), but it was the first time I'd had a chance to talk to another SCCA patient. That experience got me searching... it's what brought me here.

Ken

Hello again Ken

I am interested to see that you have got saliva back. Did you have field radiation? I have been told that mine will not return.

Your original post has brought some wonderful thoughts from others about some of the joys that have come to them as a result of cancer. It touches my heart.

Love and light from Helen

You know Ken, I still have an open wound on my left heel that remains open after 21 months. Even with the hyperbaric treatments. I developed nasty decubitus on my heel and the top of my foot, donor leg, while in the hospital. The cast was applied to tight and when they finally took it off after my days of complaints it was horrible. It lifted the top of my foot right off, I still have no feeling in that area and the scar is ugly. My heel remains an issue as I have developed the habit of not walking flat footed on that foot, putting all my weight on the good leg. I just got used to it rather then be more energetic in correcting it. I really didn't expect it would last so long!
I grew up in Maine and LOVED visiting the many Islands there, also spent tons of my childhood taking the ferry to Prince Edward Island, Canada.........so beautiful. Now my only ferry trips are the Cape Mays Ferry to Atlantic City once a year!
Take care,
Minnie

Question for Ken,

You did not mention what type of oral cancer you had. My husband has base of tongue cancer and lymph node involvement. He just finished 12/12/04 seven weeks of radiation with 96 hours of chemo the first and fourth week of treatment. He was able to survive the treatment with the assistance of a PEG or feeding tube and has been living on mighty shakes plus.

You mentioned that your salvia came back, did you have radiation or IMRT (sp) radiation. During the treatments he seemed to have more mucos than the other men in his treatment group and it has slowed down but still continues.

When were you able to eat "real food"? The doctor told him he is expecting too much that it has only been a few weeks.

Since his cancer was Stage IV and the lymph nodes have not entirely disappeared the ENT has scheduled a neck dissection for 2/22/05 but will have him have another PET scan the week before to see if he needs the neck dissection. He believes in the DUKE study that shows having a neck dissection increases your survival rate another 20%. Did you say you had a neck dissection and was it pre or post radiation.

Helen,

I haven't hear the term "field radiation," so I can't address your question directoy. I'm afraid I've blocked a lot of memories of that rather difficult experience.

I was told that saliva would not return. I was also told that my taste buds might never come back. I'm happy to say that I seem to have both. The only foods I can't eat are the hot and spicy ones, but I can eat potato chips and I don't carry a water bottle with me 100% of the time any more.

Taste started to come back a few months after radiation. Saliva came back during/after HBO treatments. My last dive was 11/9, eight weeks ago, and I'm happy to say that my eyesight is almost back to normal.

There have been a lot of times during the last couple of years when it seemed like I wasn't catching a lot of breaks. This HBO deal has helped me a lot, but I understand that different people get different results.

Is HBO therapy an option where you live? I couldnt get it in California, but learned that I could get it after moving to the Pacific Northwest.

Ken