New to all this and anxious

Hi 76George Welcome to the club we all thought we would never join. Waiting for results is a major stress time I know. At least your mind is in the right place forgetting the serious shit for a while which you may not have to have at all. Dont worry about needles and all that shit as they deal with things like this on  a daily bases.  All the Best Regards Min  

Good evening 76George, sorry that you have found yourself here, this sounds just like me with the needle issues, im more frightened of these that the surgery. You would have thought with having so many injections i would be used to it. All i do is look away and close my eyes when they jab, personally i have not heard of any good tips but maybe some people on here maybe be able to help. Good luck with the biopsy results and please let us know how you get on, fingers crossed for you George. There have been people on here who have had similar to what you might be going through, i myself had part of my jaw replaced but the break yours so it makes it easier to get access to the tumour. The success and recovery rate for this sort of cancer operation is very good as technology is improving all the time, my operations were in 2008,2009 and 2010 so im sure its improved quite a bit since then but nonetheless they did a great job with me as I'm sure they will with you, all the best and take care.

                                                                                                       Chris .

Hi 76George, your situation sounds similar to mine. I too had a deep lobe parotid tumour that was in a difficult area to access, i went into theatre expecting to have  my jaw broken for access but it wasn't necessary. It was a lengthy surgery but not too difficult to recover from, I only needed paracetamol for a couple of days post op. 5 months post op and my scar is nearly insvisible and getting used to having a numb face. Hopefully your biopsy results will bring good news and you can have your surgery without too much of a delay. Try not to worry, the anticipation is much worse than the op itself. Take care,  Cat

Morning Min, thank you for you kind words of support. 

Chris thank you so much, I got some encouragement from your message, to know you have survived. 

Morning Cat, thank you for replying, I'm so comforted knowing I'm not alone in this, your words have given me strength. Can I ask ( you don't have to answer) was yours malignant or benign? If Malignant did you need treatment following op? 

They have said that they may not know biopsy results, and so once they have removed the tumour, they will send it off to pathologist whilst I'm in theatre, for testing, was this similar to your experience? 

Hi 76,George

welcome to our small club tgat no one really wants to find themselves in. We are a friendly lot pleased you’ve had a few replies. My cancer was tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes I had 35 radiotherapy snd 2 chemo no surgery apart from biopsy.  As others say the waiting’s the worst part 

good luck kerp in touch 

Hazel 

I am the same with needles and do like chris says and look away I also ask them not to tell me it's coming i.e. just a little prick as you get even tencer (if that's a word) mostly the do this only a couple of times did they fail and you can't blame them as they say it to everyone, I am lucky as I have good veins and only a couple of the god only knows how many were a problem. As for the waiting not a lot I can say as we all react differently and my way to cope was to think it will happen so just go with it and wasn't to bad until my OP was cancled and that set me back. Can't say about the Op you are having as mine was different but good luck with it.

Hi 76George

I think its the shock, the unknown and waiting for results that contributes so much to the stress levels, especially when you don't know anyone else who's been through a similar experience.  Hopefully, now you've made contact through the forum and realise there are others out there who have been through a similar diagnosis you're feeling a little less stressed.  I'm sure that once you have a plan in place that will also help.

Good luck and do let us know how you get on.

Linda x

Hi. 76George. I was given some very helpful advice from a Marsden nurse re needles. Drink plenty of water beforehand and keep warm. Both make the veins easier to access. I hate needles, but she was right, I didn't feel a thing and now feel a lot calmer if faced with a blood test.