I’m having surgery (polymorphous adenocarcinoma)

Hello again MaiT

So pleased there is no spread and they can fix you

Good news if you can avoid RT. 

Your's is a very rare cancer so you will be a bit of a reluctant celebrity on here. It's a salivary gland cancer.....we have microscopic salivary glands all over our mouth...in case anybody is interested 

Try not to worry about post operative pain, you will be really well looked after with morphine while you are in hospital and you'll get lots to take home.

Let us know how you get on and good luck

Thank you Dani. I don’t know about celebrity but I have been thinking it might be a good idea to try my hand at lotto with these kinds of odds. 

Excellent news don’t worry about pain there’s lots of opiates they can give you. If you go down that route remember you’ll need movicol or similar to keep bowels open.

Hazel 

I’ve now been given a surgery date of 9 July and have to self isolate for 7 days. I have no idea how to tell my children. They’re only 8 and 10 so I’m not sure how much they’ll understand. I hope I can answer all their questions without scaring them too much. 

https://be.macmillan.org.uk/Downloads/CancerInformation/ChildrenAndYoungPeople/MAC5766TalkingtochildrenE2.pdf?_ga=2.94081946.643544951.1624817434-1464969575.1614605292
This MacMillan booklet might be useful 

My children were 10,7 and 5 the first time I was diagnosed. I sat them down and explained that I was going to go into hospital to have the bit that was making me poorly taken away and they would be going to stay with their grandparents for a while. The first thing the one of them said was “Does this mean we’ll have to have school dinners?” I’ve got to admit I was a bit put out that they weren’t more concerned but I was also relieved to think that at that age they couldn’t imagine anything seriously bad happening. If it did I would cross that bridge when it happened and thankfully it didn’t. Good luck MaiT, it sounds like your prognosis is excellent xx

Hi MaiT

Best wishes for your up and coming surgery. My son was 9 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I was also worried about how to tell him.  I think just telling them what they need to know in a simple way they can understand is good. You could tell them you may be a bit poorly after your op and this is normal. Reassure them you are going to be in good hands and if they have any worries don't be afraid to ask you and not to keep things to themselves.

I hope this helps

Best wishes

Nicky

Hi Mait

Childrens’ priorities never cease to amaze me. The bit about school dinners rings so true. I agree with the others. I’m sure they will take it in their stride. After all they don’t need chapter and verse which they wouldn’t understand anyway. 
Good  luck it sounds as if you are in excellent hands. 

My surgery went well and I’ve started eating and drinking on my own a few days ago. Just a minor setback that brought me back to hospital yesterday; I have a small opening on surgical site causing liquids to come up my nose when I drink. The doctors are trying to resolve that. I feel kinda like a baby cause I’ve gone from being fed through a tube to drinking fluids and now on a purée diet. 

You were so right about the movicol. I went a whole week without any bowel movement! The pain has been well managed and not as bad as I imagined. 

Well at least they are on top of it. Chin up. Your head sound in a much better place now. Xx