Breast cancer is a well oiled & funded marketing machine. HNC (head & neck) will likely take over from cervical cancer but we don’t talk about it. Here's the day that I did.
Yvonne, I just read your piece and I completely understand all those feelings. We all have our different problems and different points of view. In 2014 I had my first SCC, removed from my upper gum with surgery and free flap graft from my wrist, follow up 30 blasts of radiotherapy. Due to the excellent surgical work i was lucky enough to get back to a normal look once my new upper denture was fitted a year later. Swallowing a bit restricted due to the radiotherapy. Two years later another one popped up in a different part of my mouth. Since then I have been in and out for six more tumours to be removed, along the way having another free flap graft from the other wrist, two naso-labial flaps and been fitted with an obturator (which was no longer needed after my fourth operation), so am currently down to one tooth, appearance somewhat degraded, eating restricted to a smallish range of things and, amongst the worst things, speech quite badly affected. (On that front I am currently working with 'Project Relate' on my phone which is proving to be very useful.) I am lucky enough to have a supportive wife and son, so not going through all of this alone. But, I tend to concentrate on the 'amazing surgeons and health care people' keeping me alive so, despite restrictions, I can still enjoy life. I should probably point out that I am now in my early 70s, and I realise that for younger people disfigurement and so on can have a greater psychological affect than on someone my age. I absolutely agree with you that Head & Neck cancers seemed to be overlooked in society and more people need to be made aware so they can regularly check their mouths and know what to look for. Anything we can do to increase awareness can only be a good thing. I wish you well with all that you are doing.
Thanks for sharing your story here. I hope your recovery is going well. I'm an oral cancer survivor also. You should check out the comprehensive resources I assembled for patients (and other groups) with HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer at HPVCancerResources.org
Yvonne, I just read your piece and I completely understand all those feelings. We all have our different problems and different points of view. In 2014 I had my first SCC, removed from my upper gum with surgery and free flap graft from my wrist, follow up 30 blasts of radiotherapy. Due to the excellent surgical work i was lucky enough to get back to a normal look once my new upper denture was fitted a year later. Swallowing a bit restricted due to the radiotherapy. Two years later another one popped up in a different part of my mouth. Since then I have been in and out for six more tumours to be removed, along the way having another free flap graft from the other wrist, two naso-labial flaps and been fitted with an obturator (which was no longer needed after my fourth operation), so am currently down to one tooth, appearance somewhat degraded, eating restricted to a smallish range of things and, amongst the worst things, speech quite badly affected. (On that front I am currently working with 'Project Relate' on my phone which is proving to be very useful.) I am lucky enough to have a supportive wife and son, so not going through all of this alone. But, I tend to concentrate on the 'amazing surgeons and health care people' keeping me alive so, despite restrictions, I can still enjoy life. I should probably point out that I am now in my early 70s, and I realise that for younger people disfigurement and so on can have a greater psychological affect than on someone my age. I absolutely agree with you that Head & Neck cancers seemed to be overlooked in society and more people need to be made aware so they can regularly check their mouths and know what to look for. Anything we can do to increase awareness can only be a good thing. I wish you well with all that you are doing.
Tony Page
Thanks for sharing your story here. I hope your recovery is going well. I'm an oral cancer survivor also. You should check out the comprehensive resources I assembled for patients (and other groups) with HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer at HPVCancerResources.org