Jan 29th,2009 We're Breathing !!

I am constantly being blown away by the outpouring of thoughts and concerns from so many of you. I thank you for all your well thought out ideas and suggestions, many of which I have looked into!! Here is all the latest !!


At the last consult with our ENT we came up with a pretty good compromise to the radical dissection. The compromise we came up with is called a modified neck dissection. It eliminates some of the risks and leaves the main neck muscle in tact. It still is quite an involved operation with a few day stay in the hospital but will help determine how we radiate my neck. With out looking at the nodes they usually do a general blast of you neck and throat. Also I have spoken with other doctors and Oncologists and done a lot of research about this issue. A few places will do treatment without taking out some of the nodes but the trade off is an almost doubling of radiation time. Right now we are looking at 5 to 6 weeks of radiation with a few chemo treatments to help the radiation along. Adding another month of radiation of the neck and throat in my situation, especially my weight {Mr.String Bean !} could be much more devastating in the long run and could add months of recovery to our treatment. The biggest issue is eating, the throat can close off during treatment and most likely with just the 5 to 6 weeks I may need a feeding tube to maintain my weight and strength. So the entire issue is which path has the least risk in the long run and the best chance for a full recovery, and in our minds the risk of the modified dissection is a lot more acceptable than the risk of complications from extending the radiation treatments.Unfortunately there really is not a great deal of difference in the way major centers around the country treat head and neck cancer {with the exception of robotic surgery that is new and now happening at the Mayo Clinic and in Philadelphia, unfortunately not an option with our insurance}, it all is just fine tuning the radiation and chemo to the specific patient and situation to get the most bang for your buck without totally wiping out the patient !!


I really have great faith in my oncologist and his staff, I have spoken with them several times about this. To ease my mind a bit he has set up a second opinion with a wonderful ENT he works with in Rochester who is also very well thought of. So we are still scheduled to have my tonsils out and a modified neck dissection next Wednesday, and I will meet with the ENT in Rochester on Tuesday. If I hear anything earth shatteringly different from the consult on Tuesday we won't hesitate to cancel the surgery. I do have great confidence in the ENT surgeon I am working with now, and he does fully understand what we do and what we are all about. So that is a very good thing !!


Thanks so much again for all your encouragement and warm loving thoughts, and put lots of good thought out for a successful surgery on Wednesday !! Looking forward to the 7:00 PM Vibe !!!