Recently diagnosed with mouth cancer and at a loss

Good evening Seabee, this must be so hard to take in, i would strongly recommend you wait and see what the maxillofacial consultant has to say as he/she specialises in this and will do biopsies, scans etc . Have the dentist done any test etc .? As i have not known a dentist to diagnose cancer and what the treatment will be. Although mine was back in 2008 so times might have changed. Best wishes.

                                                        Chris.

Hi Seabee

Well done for making a start and joining the Head and Neck Community.  You'll find a lot of support, first hand advice and understanding here.  

Chris gave you some good advice to wait and see what the Maxillofacial team have to say.  If possible take someone with you.  They will serve as an extra pair of ears for information and also ask questions that may not even occur to you.

It's a great shock to be given the diagnosis but there are many of us here who have been treated for cancer in various locations of the head and neck and are still here to tell the tale. The wait for information, biopsies etc can be a difficult time but most people find once a treatment plan is in place it's easier to cope with.

All the best for your meeting.

Linda

Hi Chris2012

It was the Dental Hospital who carried out the biopsy and gave me the results. They also advised me about the work to be done in my mouth. They also referred me to the maxillofacial team and I've an appointment this Friday to see the consultant and will have a CT Scan tomorrow (Wed).

Its good to read your quality of life is good, as you've certainly have had a time of it.  Thank you for replying to me and I hope things are still ok or better for you.

Lynn

Hi Lynn, thanks for the reply, never realised that dental hospitals did this so i take back what i said.I hope all goes well for your CT scan tomorrow and with the consultant on Friday. I'm ok now and was told two years ago that there was not much chance of the cancer coming back after 10 years, so all is good . Best wishes and fingers crossed for you, take care.

                                                         Chris x

Hi Chris

Scan was a bit daunting but not painful, thanks. I guess the way they do things have changed over the years and could be about best use of resources!

That is great news that it won't come back 

Thank you and all good wishes for you.

Lynn x

Hi LindaWT

Thank you for replying to me. I have found the support and understanding overwhelming and that's only from a few people. I'm humbled by people offering advice, chats and just replying.

My husband will be coming with me when I see the consultant as my brain is mushy and I'm still in shock, as is he.

many thanks

Lynn x

Hi Lynn

I was diagnosed with stage 4 mouth and lymph node cancer 15 months ago...it was very daunting and couldn't start any treatment till I had all my teeth removed....not a great start   then 6 weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.. it was tough but these guys know what they are doing.   I was given the all clear in July and have since returned to work full time...I met someone early on who had been living with cancer for 12 years and they were the most positive person I'd ever met...I felt that if it worked for him it could work for me.. so I adopted that mentality..I treated every stage and every setback as another milestone on my way to getting back to some normality...its very tough but you will get through 

Good luck 

Chas

Hi Chas

Thank you for your reply. It's great to hear you've gone back to work after being given the all clear and after all you've gone through you have such a positive attitude. 

I have my op tomorrow and to say I'm not scared is an understatement. It's all happened so quickly from diagnosis on 3 dec to op on 30 dec. I know its good that its moving quickly and I've got a great support team in place but its still hard to accept.

Thank you for your encouragement and wishing you all the best.

Lynn x

Seabee you will be in my thoughts all day tomorrow

Good luck