|
| Date Entered at Shared Experience: 10/07/2005 |
|
MOUTH |
|
I was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue in August. I am a non smoker who apart from the occasional experimental drag as a teenager had never smoked, I only drank on social occasions and then very little and ate a healthy diet, I was not over weight and was 48 years old at the time. I was lucky in as much my GP thought the sensation I had at the back of my throat was worth checking out. After an initial wait for the ENT appointment the time between dianosis and treatment was 2 weeks. |
|
Radiotherapy, 6 weeks of intense radiotherapy plus boosters. Head fastened to the table by plastic mask. Although the teatment itself was painles, the side affects were worse than the operation. I started being sick after one treatment, my skin became red raw and blistered despite the cream, it wept and broke down like I had been blow torched. My oral secretions became thick and mucousy and I had to have a suction machine and an Oxygen nebuliser. My hair although didn't fall out in clumps, became thin and lank. Not a good time in all.It also took away my speech. |
|
Most of my left side of my tongue down to the tip was removed and replaced with muscle taken from my right armpit and back. This was and never has been a problem, I have never missed the muscle and the scar isn't important.
I had a 14 1/2 hr op and was in intensive care for three days. I had a tracheotomy for nearly three weeks. Although I have to say the nursing care I recieved was brilliant apart from waking you up at 4.30 in the morning to give you a bed bath.
Eventually they took the trachy out and with a little guidance I could speak like mickey mouse.
I had to have a feeding peg fitted which I thought was temporary, although I know better now. |
|
It took a long time to get over radio therapy, much longer than the op itself. With the help of speech therapy I have a good speaking voice, not as good as it was and there are certain words I will never be able to pronounce but they do cause such a lot of laughter that it really isn't important. I have no saliva, due to the radiotherapy which is a real pain to live with as I have to keep blowing my mouth (like blowing your nose) and permanantly need to sip water and then spit it out again. Not very socially polite but friends get used to it. I will never be able to eat again but on the bright side I will never get fat.
I still go out for meals with friends and my husband and family and read the menu and choose what I am not going to have. Its a bit like being married, you still like to look at a good looking man but you know you can't have one! |
|
I didn't bother to find out any information before my op as there was so little time and the shock of being told you have cancer was about all the information I was able to cope withat the time. Everyone is an individual so everyones experience will be different. |
|
Since I have been well enough to get on with my life I have made a list of all the things I intended to do with my life if I hadn't made it. I have done three different GCSE's been to five differnt countries, including swimming in the Bahamas with dolphins. My life has just began and I'm not going to let a funny face, a slight speech impediment and a feeding peg stop me smelling the coffee, even if I can't drink it |
Visitor Information:
Role: Patient
Name:
City:
State:
Zip:
Country:
Email:
Found sharedexperience.org By: |
Doctor Information:
Rate as Information Provider:
(1="very poor", 5="best")
Receptiveness:
(1="very poor", 5="best")
Method Used for Choosing this Doctor: |
