Follow up doctor visits are very important

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David Azose - 22 Mar 2008 14:28 GMT

13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my tongue.
Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. After surgery
for that, I had concurrent chemo and radiation. The radiation was very
hard on me and destroyed some salivary glands which has led to some
dental problems for which I am now undergoing treatment.

Yesterday, I went in for my regular 4-5 month PET/CT scan, and when I
got home I got a call from my onc. The scan showed a "nodule" in one of
the lobes of my right lung that was not there 4 month ago.

My onc had me come in to his office today where he took me to where the
scans are analyzed on high resolutions screens.The radiologist said that
there was something there 3 years ago when I first had a scan before my
head and neck operation, but it was small and didn't raise any concerns.
This most recent scan showed a larger (approx. 3cm) "something" that
"lit up" in the scan.

My onc then called a thoracic surgeon and persuaded him to see me right
then. Anyway, I'm having surgery to remove the nodule this coming
Friday, the 28th of March. The surgeon explained how the surgery will
proceed ( "wedge" operation using Video Assisted Technology, I think)
and that I shouldn't have to stay in the hospital for more than a couple
of nights.

But of course there are still questions that are raising my anxiety
level. Is the new spot really cancer? Has it moved from my neck to my
lung? And does that mean my cancer is spreading all over the place? I'm
hoping it's benign. Regular follow up checks are certainly important!

David A.

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J - 22 Mar 2008 15:27 GMT

> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my tongue.
> Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. After surgery
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> lung? And does that mean my cancer is spreading all over the place? I'm
> hoping it's benign. Regular follow up checks are certainly important!

Good luck with the biopsy, David.

Clifto had something show up on pet scan under his chin, a year or so after
his Head and neck cancer treatment, which they monitored for some time and
then to my surprise, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. I was surprised
that it was not a met (metastasis) of the original (because I thought it had
spread from the mouth to the chin area and then down, but I was wrong. It
was a 2nd cancer..

I'm still looking for someone who might benefit from this different way of
doing things
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20050414/ai_n15821014
She's over 4 years out from the procedure and as far as I know, no sign of
recurrence or spread.
It's 2 procedures in one.

PS I have no financial interest at all. Just looking to save lives, if
possible.
J

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David Azose - 23 Mar 2008 15:13 GMT

>> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my tongue.
>> Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. After surgery
[quoted text clipped - 44 lines]
> possible.
> J

Thanks J, for the information. I will call my onc on Monday and refer
him to that article. I have to admit, though, that the idea of traveling
to some other place and having people other than those who have treated
me in the past look me over is uncofortable. But I will let my doctors
here know about this article and go from there. Thanks again.

David A.

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Figgertoes - 24 Mar 2008 02:39 GMT

>>> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my
>>> tongue. Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer.
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
>
> David A.

David,

I think very highly of this woman's foundation & the research they are
doing. If your doc thinks it appropriate, he could contact them &
perhaps share your info electronically.

I would take the ability to perform surgery as a positive. Lets hope
it's not manignant at all & if it turns out to be, that they can
eliminate it surgically.

Sending positive thoughts your way,
Fig

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David Azose - 24 Mar 2008 08:07 GMT

>>>> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my
>>>> tongue. Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer.
[quoted text clipped - 69 lines]
> Sending positive thoughts your way,
> Fig

Thanks Fig. I'm working my way up to being positive about the whole
thing. I've got a good support system with my wife and daughter and
siblings. I'll let you all know what happens.

David A.

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xela56 - 22 Mar 2008 18:56 GMT

> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my tongue.
> Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. After surgery
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> David A.

Best of luck with the VATS, you'll be in an out very quickly. Let us know
how you make out, think positive!

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David Azose - 23 Mar 2008 15:15 GMT

>> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my
>> tongue. Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer.
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> Best of luck with the VATS, you'll be in an out very quickly. Let us
> know how you make out, think positive!

Hi,

Thanks for the good words of encouragement.I sure hope you're right that
I'll be in and out very quickly. To state the obvious, I don't like
hospitals.

David A.

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Marc Bissonnette - 23 Mar 2008 17:25 GMT

>>> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my
>>> tongue. Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer.
[quoted text clipped - 38 lines]
>
> David A.

I just wanted to add my two cents to follow-ups and actually going to the
doctor when you think something might be wrong: I initially thought my
right ear simply was blocked from a cold - I stupidly left it for six
months while it ended up being a tumour growing inside my head. Add to
that the *blooody year* it took the ENT to finally order an MRI only to
discover it was a helluva lot more invasive than initially thought...
well, an ounce of prevention and all that.

The fact that it ended up being cancer after the surgery was just icing
on the cake (sarcasm).

So yeah, definitely follow up with a doctor. *Much* better to have your
doctor tell you you're worrying over nothing rather than "I'm sorry to
tell you this, Mr Bissonnette, but it ended up being a malignant cancer"

Signature

Marc Bissonnette
Looking for a new ISP? http://www.canadianisp.com
Largest ISP comparison site across Canada.

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csm7532@hotmail.com - 23 Mar 2008 19:36 GMT

On Mar 23, 10:25 am, Marc Bissonnette <dragnet\_@_/internalysis.com>
wrote:

> >>> 13 years ago I had a cancerous lesion surgically removed from my
> >>> tongue. Three years ago I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer.
[quoted text clipped - 58 lines]
> Looking for a new ISP?http://www.canadianisp.com
> Largest ISP comparison site across Canada.

Similar here. I could have waited out my gi troubles instead of
having it checked out, but then I wouldn't be here to type this.
Doctor visits (follow-up or otherwise) are inconvenient, and can be
unpleasant, but they're too often necessary.

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