Mouth/gum cancer

Hi Sophie

I hope you don't mind me asking but I just found out yesterday I have stage 1 oral cancer and will need operation to remove. I have made the mistake of looking on line and now I am worried if my voice will be affected and how long it will be before I can eat again, how long I will be in hospital. Any words of advice? Thank you

 Les555 the best person to ask is your CNS. You should have their contact details. Meanwhile where is your cancer and what treatment has been offered? We might be able to help here. 

Hi Les555

So sorry to hear of the cancer diagnosis.This is a worrying time for you and your head must be in a whirl.  You need to ask your medical team all the questions you have to clarify things in relation to the op and recovery time. It depends on what op you are going to have as to some of the side effects that might occur as it can vary considerably. I had jaw cancer and at different times have had 3 ops for this. Mine were a mandibulectomy and 2 maxillectomies at different times. I was in hospital for 8 days each time. My ops did not affect my voice With the mandibulectomy it affected my ability to eat only for a short time and then I got back to fairly normal eating. With the maxillectomies it affected my eating in the long term. The ability to eat is different for everyone so you can't go by one person's experience and again it depends on what op you are going to have.

I had lots of help from dietician, speech pathology, physio before I left hospital so I was well prepared. Also all the support from this forum really made a difference.There is always someone on the forum who has experienced something similar so stick with us.

Lyn

Update. On Wed I got a phone call to say why didn't I attend my appointment.....which I had not been told about! Who in this position would not attend! So one was booked for a fortnight. Then half hour later I was offered a cancellation for that afternoon, which meant I had to just leave. Not a local hospital but one on the edge of Birmingham, 50 mile round trip. Took far longer to get there than the appointment!!!! Consultant thinks it might be nothing, but will arrange for a biopsy anyway to make sure. So now waiting for that to come through, which I hope it will, not like the last one. So not out of the woods yet, but progress.

Gemmary said:

Consultant thinks it might be nothing, but will arrange for a biopsy anyway to make sure. So now waiting for that to come through, which I hope it will, not like the last one. So not out of the woods yet, but progress.

They are usually pretty good at guessing so try to relax. 
Yes missed non existing appointments seem to be common these days.