Hello,
I've just joined and this seemed like the most relevant discussion - please correct me if wrong.
My dad had surgery 18 months ago (melanoma removal and lymph nodes removed - left side of his face - cut from ear to mid neck)). 18 months on he's still suffering from severe pain in the side of his face where they operated - pain so bad he has to stay in bed and barely eats and often vomits. This comes and goes but seems to be coming more and more often. He's been recently for MRI / PET scans and saw the specialist after this to confirm the cancer hasn't returned. It hasn't.
Is this common after this type of surgery? Does anybody else have a similar experience?
Thanks very much.
Phillip
Good evening Philip, i have had three big surgeries and have not felt like this, i was in pain after the surgery during recovery but it was only for a short period, maybe 3 months. It sounds to me if it is nerve, muscle, etc damage. Hopefully they will look into ways of reducing the pain. I have not heard of any others who have suffered for this amount of time so it sounds as if further investigation is needed. Great news no cancer has returned, I hope you manage to get the help you need, take care.
Chris
Its sometimes not easy but its worth it !
18 months on he's still suffering from severe pain
This sounds like neuropathic pain. Get him back to his team and a referral to a pain clinic. Neuropathy doesn’t respond to the usual industrial strength analgesics but there are some drugs that do help.
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
