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Author |
Topic: Trauma as a cause |
nettypoho
Supporting Member (50+ posts)
Member # 194
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greetings,
i am newly diagnosed with stage 3 oral cancer, and in a month
i will have half of my tongue removed as well as a series
of lymph nodes removed. as part of my treatment i will also
undergo radiation therapy and chemo (being treated with cisplatin).
i have 2 main concerns. the first deals with nausea and vomiting.
i am very afraid of vomiting over my new tongue. i will have
a feeding tube in place for a while, and wanted to know if
the doctors make and extra effort to prevent patients like
me from feeling sick.
i also have permanent retainers behind my front teeth. will
these have to be removed? the reason i am concered is because
my stupid braces (along with ignorant dental professionals)
most likely caused my cancer, and i really don't want to have
to give up any results from the braces because of the cancer.
i know that sounds vain, but i went through a lot of pain
and discomfort while i had the braces on, and now to be facing
cancer because of them makes me very angry. it's kind of ironic
that for the first time in my life i finally have my top and
lower jaws lined up so that my teeth meet together, and now
it's all going to get messed up again. (sorry....a little
angry about this situation).
i'd really appreciate it if anyone who underwent something
similar could respond. i'm scared out of my mind, and have
exactly one month until this all happens.
thanks
--------------------
I survived because I kept hope alive!!! Live, laugh, love
and keep fighting hard.
Jeanette
Posts:
52 | From: Columbus OH | Registered: Jun
2002 |
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youngerag
"Above & Beyond" Member (200+ posts)
Member # 12
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You have every right in this world to be mad and scared. I
know I was, and I had to wait 2 months until my surgery could
be performed. While you are mad at the dental community, I
was very mad at myself. I smoked and drank and was told in
1990 to stop both or I could be facing oral cancer. Guess
what, I didn't and I had oral cancer. It has been almost two
years and I still get angry at times.
I had 1/3 of my tongue removed, the bottom of my mouth removed
and rebuilt and a modified radical neck dissection. I was
very lucky as my lymph nodes had no sign of cancer, consequently
I did not have RAD or Chemo.
Please feel free to email if you have questions or just want
to vent.
Anne.
There are going to be some very trying times coming up; but,
you can count on all of us that participate in this forum
to keep you going.
--------------------
Anne G.Younger
Life has never been better.
Posts:
152 | From: Wilmington, Delaware | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Brian
Hill
Administrator
Member # 4
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Anti-nausea drugs are prescribed liberally to those going
through treatment. Although I must add that for me their effect
was only partial. Towards the ends of my treatments, the nausea
and fatigue were very pronounced. But this period of real
discomfort with it only lasted for about 4 weeks. I have responded
to your other posting regarding the dental professionals causing
your oral cancer, and I think that you are wrong. While I
have my own beef with the dental professional community for
not doing screenings and catching things at early enough stages,
I completely disagree with you regarding orthodontists being
the cause of oral cancer, yours or anyone else's. Given the
tens of thousands of people who undergo orthodontic treatment
every year, if this were a real cause we would see that population
of patients developing oral cancer. There is no evidence that
this is happening. And while like all of us, you are mad that
this has happened to you, before you place blame you should
be sure of your facts.
The position of most of the cancer institutions in the US,
and that of the Oral Cancer Foundation as well, is there is
no peer reviewed, published data that shows a direct correlation
between repeated trauma and oral cancers. But this old wife's
tale persists in some areas. In the cases which I have reviewed,
it is my PERSONAL opinion, that the only etiology which MAY
lead people to believe this situation, is as follows. A patient
who has other risk factors, particularly tobacco, has an easy
avenue of access for carcinogens through a sore/chronic trauma
of unrelated cause. We know for instance, that those tobacco
companies who sell chewing tobacco, frequently put aluminum
oxide abrasive particles in the chewing tobacco itself, which
abrades the mucous membranes in the area where the tobacco
is held between the cheek and the ridge. This allows faster
absorption of nicotine through the mild trauma, and a quicker
addiction as well. It is possible that this also allows for
a more rapid transmission of carcinogens. It is common to
find SCC in these areas where the tobacco and chronic abrasion
occur. Does this mean that the abrasion caused the oral cancer?
Certainly not, and without the addition of the tobacco, this
would likely lead to other soft tissue issues, but not oral
cancer. I believe the same is true of a denture wearer who
has chronic sore spots who is also a smoker. These sore spots
from chronic abrasion are a pathway, but not a causative factor.
The anecdotal evidence which you see listed as a risk factor
in some other web sites, is just that, speculation.
In a review of the literature I have been unable to document
an instance of chronic trauma as the definitive causative
factor of oral cancer. This not only includes chronic trauma
from prosthesis, but also from cheek biting, etc.
Frequently in our defining the causative agent for a particular
disease we make both suppositions and hypothesis when we see
anecdotal evidence of an etiology. Over a period of time this
OPINION becomes repeated so many times that it becomes a gospel
truth. This does not make it a fact, but it becomes ingrained
in our thought processes as if it were, and the more it is
repeated by additional sources who quote the original thinker
(in the belief that he had scientific evidence) the more it
becomes a false truth. Science is based on documentable, repeatable,
fact. The facts do not support this old wife's tale.
--------------------
Brian, stage 3 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director.
"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.
The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a
servant."
Posts:
364 | From: Laguna Beach, CA | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Joanna
"Above & Beyond" Member (200+ posts)
Member # 41
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I can tell you about cisplatin, having just come off dose
one of three. First, prepare to be hydrated. One liter before,
one with drugs, and one after, and nurse calling to check
in/out for three days after. In my case, pharmacist handed
me 6-day plan consisting of many little pills, some q4 and
most q6. Prevented the nausea (cisplatin is rated as level
5 nausea drug) but put me over the moon, e.g., I cannot remember
yesterday at all. Last night skipped the drugs all together
and finally feel real again, although tired. That is cisplatin,
Evil Cell Killer Extreme! Don't worry about nausea. I only
used two levels of drugs, and was offered four. If you don't
mind being out of it, you need not vomit. Good Luck!
Joanna
Posts:
161 | From: Pacific Northwest | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Joanna
"Above & Beyond" Member (200+ posts)
Member # 41
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More about Cisplatin.
Hot Tip: When tongue has metallic taste that makes even the
necessary water taste yucky, pop a honey lemon cough drop
and filter the water through that. Works like a charm!
Posts:
161 | From: Pacific Northwest | Registered:
Mar 2002 |
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Midwest
Gal
Member
Member # 121
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About nausea and Cisplatin ...I had two rounds of Cisplatin
at the same time as the radiation treatment was going on.
I didn't ever throw up due to nausea, thanks to the antinausea
pills they give you plus the steriods they give you to make
the antinausea medicine work. I must say I didn't care for
the steriods because I couldn't sit still and felt 'weird'.
For me, five minutes seemed like an hour. I did have a gagging
problem because of the thick mucous gunk in the back of my
throat. If I'd been proactive, I would have drank all the
time to keep that stuff washed down. Of course I wouldn't,
so I ended up making myself vomit after repeated gagging episodes.
Good Luck.
Posts:
22 | From: Des Moines, IA | Registered:
Apr 2002 |
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Midwest
Gal
Member
Member # 121
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About fear .... I remember being so afraid in the beginning
cuz I read stories on the internet that sounded too scary.
One night my heart was pounding and my teeth chattering. After
that, I stayed off the internet (too bad I didn't know about
this site). As it ended up, the bad things I read about didn't
happen to me. For example, the doctors said that I'd get a
terrible sore throat that would need morphine. Boy was I scared.
And that never happened! I learned to only worry about today.
If radiation was scheduled tomorrow at 9 AM, I waited until
tomorrow to worry about getting ready. (I was really quite
lazy!) God Bless You.
Posts:
22 | From: Des Moines, IA | Registered:
Apr 2002 |
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