Tongue/Neck Cancer treatment - what to expect and when to expect it?
Tongue/Neck Cancer treatment - what to expect and when to expect it?
Hi there,
I'm part a few forums related to electric cars (Tesla!), vegan keto eating and community groups...and I tend to be a lurker. I was glad to find these forums, yet do find the information here overwhelming; but then again everything associated with cancer is overwhelming. It amazes me how open people are and how willing to share their stories. I am reading the posts and relaying key info to my husband (the one with cancer); he is already getting used to hearing me talk about Ken and James ;-).
The cancer chapter of our story started when my 63-year old husband noticed a lump on his neck in the summer. He went to see his G.P. and he gave him a requisition form for an ultrasound and said, if it's there in a month get the ultrasound, if it's not; then don't. The ultrasound showed "something" so he was sent to get a CT scan (Oct 8, 2019); The technician told him he'd see hear about the results in 2 weeks; 4 hours later they called. A week later we met with the EMT Doctor that his G.P. referred him to. The EMT looked down his throat and saw something at the base of the tongue. On Oct. 24, the same EMT did a biopsy of the lymph nodes and now we are waiting for news.
The waiting sucks doesn't it? Nothing has effectively changed in our lives, except everything.
We largely suspect it is HPV-related; from what I've read it has better prognosis that tongue cancers caused by smoking and drinking. While he was getting the biopsy done, I commented to the Dr & Nurse team that it's not everyday a wife hopes her husband has an STD. Everything is upside down.
We were hoping to get news of the biopsy by now (6 working days). We're in Ontario.
Ironically my husband had just returned to his high school weight by being on a keto diet and now after reading the material on this site (and Ken's blog), we're thinking we need to put some extra weight on him. Yesterday he went to MacDonald's hoping to supersize himself, but today he is feeling more like staying on keto. From what I understand no clinical studies (with people) have proven the benefits of being on a keto diet in terms of slowing down tumour growth; but there does seem to be some research showing that people may cope better from radiation and chemo treatment when on a keto diet. We're thinking that it likely can't hurt; and if swallowing becomes difficult it makes sense to eat more nutrient dense foods... carb-loading does not sounds like a good strategy at this point.
Any insights as to how the treatment plan will unfold and what we can/should do while we wait would be appreciated.
When should we expect to know about the treatment plan; will the EMT tell us what happens next or do we have to wait for an oncology team to be pulled together?
Thanks in advance,
I'm part a few forums related to electric cars (Tesla!), vegan keto eating and community groups...and I tend to be a lurker. I was glad to find these forums, yet do find the information here overwhelming; but then again everything associated with cancer is overwhelming. It amazes me how open people are and how willing to share their stories. I am reading the posts and relaying key info to my husband (the one with cancer); he is already getting used to hearing me talk about Ken and James ;-).
The cancer chapter of our story started when my 63-year old husband noticed a lump on his neck in the summer. He went to see his G.P. and he gave him a requisition form for an ultrasound and said, if it's there in a month get the ultrasound, if it's not; then don't. The ultrasound showed "something" so he was sent to get a CT scan (Oct 8, 2019); The technician told him he'd see hear about the results in 2 weeks; 4 hours later they called. A week later we met with the EMT Doctor that his G.P. referred him to. The EMT looked down his throat and saw something at the base of the tongue. On Oct. 24, the same EMT did a biopsy of the lymph nodes and now we are waiting for news.
The waiting sucks doesn't it? Nothing has effectively changed in our lives, except everything.
We largely suspect it is HPV-related; from what I've read it has better prognosis that tongue cancers caused by smoking and drinking. While he was getting the biopsy done, I commented to the Dr & Nurse team that it's not everyday a wife hopes her husband has an STD. Everything is upside down.
We were hoping to get news of the biopsy by now (6 working days). We're in Ontario.
Ironically my husband had just returned to his high school weight by being on a keto diet and now after reading the material on this site (and Ken's blog), we're thinking we need to put some extra weight on him. Yesterday he went to MacDonald's hoping to supersize himself, but today he is feeling more like staying on keto. From what I understand no clinical studies (with people) have proven the benefits of being on a keto diet in terms of slowing down tumour growth; but there does seem to be some research showing that people may cope better from radiation and chemo treatment when on a keto diet. We're thinking that it likely can't hurt; and if swallowing becomes difficult it makes sense to eat more nutrient dense foods... carb-loading does not sounds like a good strategy at this point.
Any insights as to how the treatment plan will unfold and what we can/should do while we wait would be appreciated.
When should we expect to know about the treatment plan; will the EMT tell us what happens next or do we have to wait for an oncology team to be pulled together?
Thanks in advance,
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