Head and Neck cancers Support Group
Oral cancer or oral cavity cancer, a subtype of head and neck cancer, is any cancerous tissue growth located in the oral cavity. It may arise as a primary lesion originating in any of the oral tissues, by metastasis from a distant site of origin, or by extension from a neighboring anatomic structure, such as the nasal cavity or the maxillary sinus.
My dad had some type of cancer removed from his upper front gum several years ago. Following that procedure, which resulted in some minor disfigurment of his face, he was cancer free. A couple of months ago he developed a sore in the back of his mouth where the jawbones meet behind the back teeth. The first biopsy was inconclusive but his doctor was skeptical of that and sent a second larger sample to another pathology lab. He also ordered a CT. He was diagnosed with COPD and they noted a spot in the lower part of one lung, which the pulmonologist is planning to biopsy in a few weeks.
Last week he went to see the oral surgeon for the results of the second biopsy and they said he will need to undergo a 12 hour surgery to remove the tumor, the lymph nodes in his neck followed by reconstructive surgery to place a graft in the mouth and repair the severed nerves and blood supply to the tongue and jaw. He mentioned a tracheostomy being placed before the surgery and a feeding tube in the stomach as he will be unable to eat until everything is healed.
Unfortunately I was not able to go with my mom and him to hear everything the doctor said. My dad is 86 and he has had prostate cancer for many years that did not respond to treatment, has also had open heart surgery for arrhythmea and currently has an abdominal aortic aneurysm. My mom is 82 and has psoriatic arthritis and osteoporosis so she is somewhat frail too. I am just terribly worried about how well he is going to hold up to this, how long it might take for him to heal and whether my mom can even manage to care for him.
They both are worried but seem to feel like it is necessary and expect that things will be back to normal in a month or two. My dad still has a business that he has refused to retire from and they are thinking that they can get a little extra help for a while and he will be getting back to work at least part time in a month.
Has anybody had any experience with this type of cancer and this surgery? Am I overreacting when I say that I don't think his quality of life is going to return to normal and they are being unrealistic? How fast can someone of his age really be expected to recover from something like this? My family says I am too negative and they have full faith in the doctors that they wouldn't do this if it was too risky or might leave him unable to regain his full quality of life. Anybody have any suggestions of what I should be trying to prepare them for?
Last week he went to see the oral surgeon for the results of the second biopsy and they said he will need to undergo a 12 hour surgery to remove the tumor, the lymph nodes in his neck followed by reconstructive surgery to place a graft in the mouth and repair the severed nerves and blood supply to the tongue and jaw. He mentioned a tracheostomy being placed before the surgery and a feeding tube in the stomach as he will be unable to eat until everything is healed.
Unfortunately I was not able to go with my mom and him to hear everything the doctor said. My dad is 86 and he has had prostate cancer for many years that did not respond to treatment, has also had open heart surgery for arrhythmea and currently has an abdominal aortic aneurysm. My mom is 82 and has psoriatic arthritis and osteoporosis so she is somewhat frail too. I am just terribly worried about how well he is going to hold up to this, how long it might take for him to heal and whether my mom can even manage to care for him.
They both are worried but seem to feel like it is necessary and expect that things will be back to normal in a month or two. My dad still has a business that he has refused to retire from and they are thinking that they can get a little extra help for a while and he will be getting back to work at least part time in a month.
Has anybody had any experience with this type of cancer and this surgery? Am I overreacting when I say that I don't think his quality of life is going to return to normal and they are being unrealistic? How fast can someone of his age really be expected to recover from something like this? My family says I am too negative and they have full faith in the doctors that they wouldn't do this if it was too risky or might leave him unable to regain his full quality of life. Anybody have any suggestions of what I should be trying to prepare them for?
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My 6mo twin DD's are EBF and just started rice cereal on the first. Everything has been going fine except this morning one of them had a diaper rash (lots of redness around her anus). I read this as one of the signs of an allergy. BUT I did just buy a different brand diaper yesterday (which they have used randomly before w/no issues). Do you think its the cereal or the diaper? Im ready to start...
I really hope that your dad gets another opinion. That is a lot to take on for his age. Praying for the correct answers for him!