Facing Head and Neck Cancer Surgery: Seeking Support

I have stage 4 tonsil cancer , recently diagnosed. I have not started my treatment yet. I do not have the same cancer as you , but I do know the fear of not knowing what to expect. It is overwhelming at times . Hang in there . I pray all goes well for you.

I am sorry for both of you. I had breast cancer and your situation has to be worse. Prayers for both of you! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

When you get the diagnosis it’s so scary! I’m a healthy 62 year old and up until my cancer diagnosis I wasn’t taking any medications for anything! I was diagnosed with left tonsil cancer April 4th. I just had a radical left tonsillectomy, right tonsillectomy and neck dissection (30 lymph nodes removed) on 6/16. The surgery was successful, clear margins were obtained and lymph nodes were all negative, so thankfully my cancer was Stage 1. I won’t need any radiation since the surgery got everything out. It’s been a rough recovery but everyday I’m getting slightly better. I still can’t swallow much other than liquids and I talk like I have my nose plugged. My doctor is sending me to a speech therapist for an evaluation. I’m thankful I don’t need any further treatment although I still have more recovery ahead of me. All the best to you

I have stage 1 tongue cancer and had a partial glossectomy and reconstruction. I was not at all prepared. Went from my dentist saying get that checked immediately and giving me a referral to an oral surgeon who did not participate in any in network insurance plans. So I made an appointment with an oncologist that told me “yes, that does look cancerous” and gave me a referral to a surgeon and said something like oh go see him and he will just cut it right out and you will be good as new. The surgeon looked at it and said I can take that out next week and acted like it was going to be nothing. I told them both that I’d had one of these on my tongue about 13 years ago and that an oral surgeon cut it out. I truly expected to go in and be better in a few days. The surgeon came in after and acted like it was just a walk in the park. He never told me anything about the “reconstruction”. He just told my husband that if it started “oozing” to hold a tea towel on it for at least 30 minutes. The nurses that discharged me told me I could go back to normal activities the next day! Then at my surgery follow-up his NP or PA told me that there were still margins that were positive and that the doctor would come in and go over options with me. He came in and said looks like we got it, come back in 3 months. When I told him that I didn’t know how the hell anybody goes back to work after the weekend off. He said no you should take 4 or 5 days off. I wouldn’t have ever told you to go back to normal activities the next day as he patted my arm. Well, I still have the discharge paperwork that says just that and I am taking it to his smug ass. Then went to the oncologist and he looked at the report and immediately said they didn’t get it all. So now the plan is to wait and see. This has been a terrible year for me. This thing popped up around January. One of my best friends’s husband passed away from cancer on Feb 4. My other best friend had a brain bleed on Feb 10 and just died June 21…. 5 days before my birthday. And I was in the process of starting a new job that I had been waiting to open up for almost a year. And all of this after my sister and I found our baby brother dead last April. He was only 44.

This community has many members who understand the fear and uncertainty that comes with head and neck cancer surgery. Finding people who share similar experiences can provide valuable emotional support and practical insights during this challenging time. Consider connecting with others here who may have gone through similar procedures - their encouragement and advice about recovery could be incredibly helpful as your surgery date approaches.