Hi all,
Here's something I haven't seen talked about much. My husband actually asked me to post about this. At three years post treatment, he is seeing continual "wasting of his face". It seems that the fat cells are all obliterated by radiation. One friend likes to generously call it a "chiseled face". In reality, his face looks so gaunt as to be somewhat shocking to strangers. Oddly, this effect seems worse on the side opposite of his tonsil cancer and neck nodes. Don't know what I'm asking here...just some similar experience, I guess.

Thanks, as always,
Anita

I have noticed that the skin around my mouth is much looser then it ever was before. It's not from age, as the rest of my face isn't that wrinkled. I have always attributed it to the after effects of radiation.

minniea, i was wondering if they put anything in your jaw besides the bone from your leg. Like a titanium plate? I have this and it is now and has been tearing thru my skin. Now I have to have it removed. This is something that has brought me to tears..The thought of having to have yet another surgery is enough to push this ole gal right over the edge..Please let me know, or anyone out there that has the simulair probelm...Vicki

Miss Vicki,
Welcome back. People were asking about you just about a month ago. Sorry to hear you need more surgery. Hope you are doing well.

Anita, Minnie,
They removed my 16 rear teeth prior to radiation, dump fool that I was to let them do it. This left me with no rear teeth, upper or lower, for a year and a half and my face caved in around the mouth. Now even with partials I still have the wrinkles. Ugh! I certain the radiation contributed to this also.

Take care,
Eileen

ANITA, radiated tissue has characteristics that normal tissue doesn't have. It is and will always be radiated tissue and everyones body chemistry reacts to it in a different manor. I have seen radiated tissue from a cadaver and opposed to normal cadaver tissue it appears more dead and even the cells are different.
Darrell

Just last week I had the ear lobe on the radiated side sewn up because a pierced earring had caused the hole to greatly enlarge. The doc who sewed it was the ENT who did the mega surgery 4 years ago, and he said he sees a lot of change in radiated tissue. Tried to get him to order HBO for healing, at my friend's HBO clinic in Mexico, but he said that probably wasn't necessary. Darn!

Minnie, I think the loosend skin around your mouth and mine is because we were without teeth for a time and there was no support. I just smile a lot which stretches it out, and is a good general practice anyway (grin).

I've also had some of that "chiseling" going on for quite awhile -- even though I still have all my teeth, I've had a fair amount of localized wrinkling around my mouth and chin, far more than elsewhere on my face. This past year, I had a small basal cell carcinoma on the lower left side of my face in an area that got pretty heavily radiated.

Joanna, I've also had some hypersensitivity in the pierced ear that probably got zapped a bit, although it usually seems to heal again within a few days.

Cathy

Hi All, I have lots of wrinkling on the chin area and not so much on my 48 year old face. I attribute it to radiation. That is mostly where they hit, I used to have dark, dark marks along the sides of my face, they have faded in time. The chin area is still darker than the rest(and wrinkly), anybody know of anything that helps it? I continue to use cocoa butter.
Hi Miss Vicki!!!!!!!I have been thinking about you a lot, so happy to see you post. YOu are very brave...I know you will handle the surgery. Take Care...Love, Carol

I am very glad to have had this tread started, because here I was, thinking I was certainly aging at a rapid rate, and it most likely isn't genetics or lifestyle after all. Just have to remember to smile a LOT.

Thanks everbody for replies. To be honest, I'm happy that my husband is looking at these issues. The evolving perspective has been stunning. I'll never again in my whole life take one tiny component of the human body for granted.

Anita