jdcarolina

II was looking over Bob's issues you have posted about.....and it occurred to me, we were never given a "stage". Early into the first round of chemo, the oncologist answered when I referenced the "stage".... Oh....maybe stage three....stage four. After the meeting with the cancer board, we were told that surgery was not an option....to large of masses/ tumors/lymph nodes. I'm curious, if they are in treatment.....chemo/ radiation....it would seem to me that the cancer would not be spreading....that the chemo would keep it at bay.....now tho, we're afraid that it may have spread to the lungs. This waiting for the next PET scan is killing us....

jdcarolina is my mother, I am there 37 year old daughter living at home, I never imagined that I would be going through this journey with mom or dad so early in life, I always thought it would be later in life when they were both retired and they would be living with me. It is definitely very challenging and my mother and I are both exhausted, we know dad loves us, but sometimes he can really hurt our feelings without even realizing he did it. It stinks that he has been in the hospital all week, but it has given us a chance to talk to each other some, because we do not talk in front of dad at home. Our lives are forever changed, the worst part for me right now is really wandering whats next, and there is such a long waiting period before the follow up pet scan to see if treatment worked or not, I mean if its gone great, we can breathe, but if its back or spread what in the world are we gonna do, My mother and I don't feel like we could handle a second go round with all we have been through this first time, and honestly I don't think dad could handle a second go round especially with a neck dissectioin, it would be horrible. I pray every night for strength for me and my mother, dad will be coming home today or tomorrow probably and we have to get back in routine. My mother is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her, I am glad we are in this fight together. I just want things to be normal again although I know they never will be, but I will always be daddys little girl no matter how old I get and can only pray that he gets better and we can enjoy the time we have left together as a survivor and not fighting constant battles. I would say my mother has more strength than I do for dealing with dad, as she has been married to him for 40 years . It is very painful for me to see dad hurt and it is equally painful for me to see mom hurting physically and emotionally as well and there is nothing I can do. We are putting everything we have into this and have reached our limit. Mom called a few minutes ago and said his potassium and magnesium are low and he has to get meds and new blood work to see if he will be able to come home or not.. go figure just our luck, we were hoping to bring him home today and see the nurse for his IV antibiotics at home, but our bad luck track record for being able to come home from the hospital in a timely fashion has struck again. When dad had his tonsil removed in Feb. I started keeping a cancer journey diary, at the time we knew nothing about this site and for me it was a way to talk or vent, I thought it would help and it does a little, but not much it is worth a try it may help others who have no one to talk to. Well enough venting for now. Thanks for listening .

I am so overwhelmed....I've sat here and cried all morning. I just want to crawl in a hole and wake up back to the way things were a yr ago. I have become extremely angry....and feel like no one understands or cares enough to try.

My husband is 67 and just finished chemo/radiation for same issue....would love to talk to you .....so many questions/concerns

Welcome to the site. I know it is rough, but it sounds lie you are most of the way there. I had the same treatments. When I developed the sunburn on my neck, I was given a cream to help with the discomfort.

Welcome jdcarolina. I'm sorry for the circumstances that led you to this site, but glad you found your way here. It sounds like you and your husband on a challenging journey right now. I hope you find WhatNext to be a place where you can get questions answered, vent and get support and encouragement. Take care of yourself.

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/head-and-neck-cancer

There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx.

You may also find our "Beginner's Guide To Cancer" page helpful Click Here for that=> http://bit.ly/10BQKCi

Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the data base to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall.

Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also. Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

Greg P
3x Survivor
Team WhatNext
Community Mgr.

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter