Hi all,
My Dad was diagnosed with tongue cancer at the begging on April and was planned to have surgery to remove the tumour and reconstruct on 1st May. He was planned to have a temporary tracheostomy and NG tube. However once on the operating table the surgery had to be stopped as the tumour had grown and further scans needed to be done to see what the next steps would be. He had already had the tracheostomy put in place and scans revealed it had almost doubled in size in 3 weeks and surgery was no longer an option and gone from stage 3 to stage 4. He then had a referral to the oncologist who have recommended 2 cycles of chemotherapy (which he is now on his 2nd cycle) and then complete more scans to see how the tumour is reacting. My dad is getting very frustrated as he is having to deal with the tracheostomy, RIG and the tongue cancer diagnoses all in less than a couple of months and he is currently N.B.M as they need to complete a swallowing assessment but have struggled previously due to the amount of secretions he is having. My worry is why haven't they started radiotherapy yet? And is the chemotherapy he is receiving strong enough as he hasnt really had any major side effects just a couple of sick days and tired.
Sorry for the long message been alot to take in these last few weeks
Hi Nik_85
Sorry to hear about your father.
My advice would be to phone his CNS to discuss how the treatment is going. They are best placed to answer your questions.
RT is usually delayed till after induction chemo( the sort your dad is having) to gauge the response with a further scan. RT is pretty targeted these days and there is little point in irradiating a huge area with awful long term side effects if chemo can reduce the size of the cancer before radiotherapy
My thoughts are with you xx
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
I wrote a blog about my cancer. just click on the link below
https://todaymycoffeetasteslikechristmasincostarica.com
