My name is Erin. My husband and I run a local ministry and we reach out to the marginalized in our community. I am a stay at home mom. I have been married 30 years and we have 8 kids and 5 grandkids. This week I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, or throat cancer. I’m looking for any helpful resources to get us through this next season.

Sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. When you have time please add to the information things like the location of the tumor, the staging, where you are being treated, and what their current plan is for you. It will help people offer you things to be aware of, and ideas for issues that may come up as a process of treatment that they have found workarounds for, that may make things easier.

The OCF main website has tons of pages of trusted, vetted information about most everything you might need to understand. But please ask more questions about anything that you would like to more about, most of us have been through all this, and can offer you insights. Right now, I can understand that even knowing the right questions to ask of us or your doctors might be difficult. It does take awhile to learn the language of cancer can it’s treatment, so please no question is too simple or inappropriate. Knowledge is something that gives you strength, as it is the fear of the unknown that challenges most of us. Good luck, we will all be here to help if you need us. B

Erin, welcome to a family of some of the most friendly and caring people on Earth. We will hold your hand through this and help you if you'll let us. I would not have made it if not for the support of the OCF members. Some of these cancers are very curable. Some things you will learn on here can make your life SO much easier. Please stay in touch. Take Brians above advise. Tell us about yourself and what is going on with you. We are here for you.

Bless you. My husband had surgery for tongue cancer on March 23. He has feeding tube and trach. We came home one week after surgery. He is getting better every day. It is a long road but it helps to have people walking it with you and to know that God is with you every step. Please ask questions. Information is so important. We talk to doctors, nurses, etc. We clarify everything. You are your own best advocate. At first we felt like they talked "at" us. Now they talk "with" us.