Hi there, I live in Northern France. just joined the community as need help. just over 3 years ago in July noticed a small lump in my throat when shaving it did not go away so saw my doctor. he sent me for an ultrasound, and they said my gland was probably infected and ot would go within a couple of weeks using antiseptic mouthwash, but it was not cancer. 3 weeks on it had not gone and my saliva was drying up making it harder to swallow. back to doctor who immediately arranged for me to see an ENT specialist. He was not happy as i had a growth under my Tonge and the delay in getting to see him was not good. He sent me for an IMRI scan and called me in with the very bad news. it was now the start of October and my growth had grown from a small lump to a huge lump Measuring 8 Cm X 5 Cm. They class the tumours on a scale of 1 to 4 in France and mine was at the top end of 4. And just to make things worse was under the base of my Tonge in an extremely difficult place for him. they carried out a biopsy and said i had HPV. We had a long chat and i realised after our meeting he was accessing me and my attitude. He called me back in the following week Although i was at a late age of life at 69 because i was reasonably fit and healthy and more important to him had very high Morale and attitude to life and was not frightened by his diagnosis he was prepared to take on the huge challenge for him to help me as best he could. He sent me to radiology and for 5 days a week for 6 weeks they bombarded my throat with the strongest lasers that my throat could take. along with Chemotherapy. After the treatment the radiologist said the laser burning would continue inside my throat for 2 months and they would MRI scan me then to see what the result was. The ENT specialist then called me in and gave me the bad news The tumour had shrunk by about 2 thirds but was still around 5 x 3 Cm. He explained i could have no more laser treatment as my throat would not be able to take it. my only 2 options were to monitor it and see what it did or undergo a massive 12-hour operation in which he would remove all my Tonge and larynx and all the soft tissue in that area, and seal off the tube that splits the air and food tubes and perform a tracheotomy. i Have no fear of dying as i have had a great life so went for the operation. it was highly successful, and he removed all the tumour apart from a very small nodule that was too near the artery that feeds my brain for him to risk nicking it. so now on blanket chemo every 5 to 6 weeks for the next 2 years by then he hopes my throat would have self-healed enough to laser the final bit.
Oh Zoot. I’m so sorry you have had to endure such life changing surgery. You must indeed be made of strong stuff to take it head on.
You’re right about the radiotherapy. It’s awful and can’t be repeated.
Have you been offered immunotherapy?
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
