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Posted
I am curious....
There are a lot of posts stating chemo and radiation treatment. I have not been able to find too many patients of tongue cancer that I have been able to talk to prior to joining this site. But, it appears that the ones that I have talked to, most of them have only had to have surgery to resolve their issue, including myself (so far). Can anyone tell me what determines additional treatment of chemo or radiation?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr Vinod K Joshi,
 
Posts: 7 | Location: Northwest Territories, Canada | Registered: 02 July 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Hello Roxanne

Hope this helps:

from Cancer Research UK
quote:
'Treating tongue cancer'
As with many types of cancer, diagnosing your cancer early means it will be easier to control and possibly cure it. Treating tongue cancer will depend on the size of the cancer and whether or not it has spread to the lymph nodes in your neck. You may have
  • Surgery
  • Radiotherapy
  • Chemotherapy

You may have one of these or a combination of treatments. The best treatment for very small tongue cancers is surgery. For larger tumours that have spread to the lymph nodes in the neck, you will most likely have a combination of surgery and radiotherapy. This means having an operation to remove the cancer from your tongue and the lymph nodes in your neck. You may need to have all the nodes on one or both sides of your neck removed. You may hear your doctor call this operation a radical neck dissection. It lowers the risk of your cancer coming back in the future. You will then have a course of radiotherapy to help get rid of any cancer cells left behind.

If your cancer has grown so big that it affects most of your tongue, you may need to have an operation to remove your tongue (glossectomy). This is a big operation and many doctors may suggest that you first try radiotherapy and chemotherapy to shrink the cancer. If this works, you may not need such major surgery.


Best wishes
Vinod Coffee


Disclaimer: Please see your own dentist/doctor for a proper diagnosis as my words should not, in any circumstances, be taken as dental/medical advice.

"If you see what is small as it sees itself, and accept what is weak for what strength it has, and use what is dim for the light it gives, then all will go well. This is called Acting Naturally."
Lao-Tsu, Tao Teh King
 
Posts: 2923 | Location: St Luke's Hospital, Bradford and Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield | Registered: 14 December 2002Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Vinod, thanks for your expertise. I need to ask you for more information, if that's alright?!

Is there much consultation and sharing of tongue cancer treatment information between medicial communities from different countries? Like between Canada and the UK?

Also, the typical answer given for the reason people get tongue cancer is that it is from smoking and alcohol consumption. It appears to me that this may be misleading. There are 3 of us (all women) that go to the University of Alberta Hospital for care and not a one of us falls into this category of lifestyle. Can you shed any light on possible other causes of tongue cancer that may be applicable to those of us who were never smokers and also did not consume much alcohol?

I've also read that HPV has been linked to tongue cancer but could not find much for details - could you share any information in this regard?

I seem to be on a never ending quest to find the answer to "why me". What have I done or not done that could have made a difference.

If anyone else wishes to share information regarding my post, please help to educate me!

Regards,
Rox.
 
Posts: 7 | Location: Northwest Territories, Canada | Registered: 02 July 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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hi there
i had chemo and radiotheraphy at the same time,it was hard going and did not agree with me i spent around 7 months in hospital last year due to complications brought on by the 2 like dehydration diarreheoa etc,had to have several blood transfusion.with hindsite i would have preferred surgey because i might be able to eat now.i have been in remission since treatment stopped so it worked very well.regards shirl xxx
 
Posts: 235 | Location: gosport hampshire | Registered: 31 July 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Rox,
This may not be what you want to hear - but you may have to eventualy resign to the fact that you wont ever know why it happened to you!
I have! I've just accepted that it was one of those things and there was nothing i could of done about it! Just my hard luck!
It's taken 2 years since i was diagnosed to 'get over it'. But i'm there now.
If the learnered ones knew exactly what all the causes of cancers were then there would be far far fewer diagnosed as we could pevent it.
You may think i'm a defeatest for not wanting to dig for answers. But for a long time i did.
I now know it's not healthy and you can go crazy with questions that will never be answered!
All the best though!
Michelle


-~*Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds*~-
...Albert Einstein
 
Posts: 758 | Location: Hastings, UK | Registered: 01 March 2007Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Good Morning Roxanne
Michelle is right, we should not allow ourselves to ask "Why me?" because for most of us there will never be an answer,and asking the question will only lead to frustration.Better to look at the beautiful things in this world and to accept that there are many things for which we should give thanks.At the moment it may not be too easy but it is worth a try
Keep Smiling
John
 
Posts: 323 | Location: Mirfield,West Yorks. | Registered: 13 October 2004Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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Hello Roxanne

While there are risk factors for cancer, many people with these same risk factors (or more!) don't get it. So Why me? is a natural question to ask but the truth is that there is no "true answer", only likely possibilities. The search for the "truth" only exhausts the mind and body. For someone without a cancer, the question, though rarely asked, could be 'why not me?' This was Brenda Brady's attitude about her cancer - "why not me?"
quote:
"Life is not about how many days spent on this earth, but how we spend the days we have on this earth."
- Brenda Brady (1947 - 2008)
Life is unpredictable and the best we can do is to look out and avoid the known (or perceived as known) risks.

Click for past discussions about: Why ME?

Best wishes
Vinod Coffee

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr Vinod K Joshi,


Disclaimer: Please see your own dentist/doctor for a proper diagnosis as my words should not, in any circumstances, be taken as dental/medical advice.

"If you see what is small as it sees itself, and accept what is weak for what strength it has, and use what is dim for the light it gives, then all will go well. This is called Acting Naturally."
Lao-Tsu, Tao Teh King
 
Posts: 2923 | Location: St Luke's Hospital, Bradford and Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield | Registered: 14 December 2002Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
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