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Newly diagnosed retromolar mouth cancer

immy3
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Hi

My spouse is newly diagnosed two days ago with this cancer. There seems to be very little information on it and I can't find anything in the forums when I search?  Next week he has a CT and MRI scan to see the staging.  We are terrified and feel in an awful situation which we will never escape from now.  We've tried to stay practical but the mind wanders back constantly to this. I can't stop crying which is not helping my husband or me but I can't help it.  The consultant said it appears from an initial examination that he will be able to operate but won't know anything for definite until the scan results. If he can operate it will be major surgery and reconstruction of the area affected. What we can find seems to show it is a fast spreading cancer so while we wait it might end going to other areas in the body. We need to feel happy again but we feel we never will be now. 

Hope someone can help.

 

Thanks

 

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    Hello immy3, 

    I am so sorry to hear about your spouse's diagnosis. We have in-depth general information on our website on mouth cancer which I hope will answer some of the questions you may have and you can learn more about stages, types and grades for mouth and oropharyngeal cancer. 

    I hope you find out more next week and that the CT and MRI scans will give you more answers. It's normal to feel in shock at the moment and to feel like crying after the shock of the news. This is a difficult time too when you are still waiting for crucial information on staging and this uncertainty will only make you feel worse at the moment. Hopefully when you have all the information in hand and a treatment plan in place you will feel better and more hopeful. It's a good sign that the consultant has told you that they think they will be able to operate and I hope that you find out everything very soon and get some clarity on what is going to happen. Our website also has information on surgery for mouth and oropharyngeal cancer which I hope you will find useful. 

    If you have any questions and if there is anything you would like to discuss, feel free to give our nurses a call on this free number 0808 800 4040 - their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

    I hope that you will hear from others on the forum who have had a similar diagnosis or looked after a loved one with mouth cancer and that they will come and share their story with you. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Offline in reply to Moderator Lucie

    Hi Lucie

    Thanks for your kind words.  Hopefully they will be able offer treatment. Yes, you are right. Waiting for the staging information seems more daunting now than getting the diagnosis. Until then we know there is nothing we can do.

     

    Best Regards

     

    Immy3

     

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