Man horrified to discover 'sore throat' was actually cancer

Thanks for that.

 

Bullhunky, , isn't that what Michael Douglas claimed? Had nothing to do with the 2 packs of cigs and cheap booze they consume daily. Not sure that would apply to most.

 

He got hold of some bad crack.

 

It's a real thing, although the origin of it coming from oral s*x is debatable. According to my cancer doc, HPV is prevalent just about everywhere you go. It's a virus and it can damage your cells enough to create a cancer. Nobody is immune. Some are more resistant but nobody is immune.

I was off for 6 months last year for chemo and radiation treatments. Had a tumor on the back of my tongue about the size of a pencil eraser ( the wooden pencil eraser not the big rubber thing). I had the sore throat for over a year but couldn't get my family dr to check it out. It took the cancer spreading to my jawline and swelling the side of my face up like a small balloon before he finally referred me to a ear nose throat specialist. Once the ENT doc did the biopsy, he got the results back and confirmed it was cancer from HPV.

Yes, im a guy... Doc said it's actually pretty common for the virus to infect and "hang out" at the back of the throat/tongue where it damages the cells and creates the environment for cancer to develop.

It really sucks... I had 7 weeks of treatment. 5 days a week of radiation. 1 day a week of chemo. They created a custom "goalie mask" for me. Every day I'd go into the cancer center. They'd lay me on the table, put the mask over my face and shoulders and head, lock it into place on the table so I can't move my head. For 20 minutes, they'd irradiate my jawline from chin to collarbone, ear to ear. Then they take the mask off and I'd go back home.

The first 3 weeks were OK, then the "sunburn" started catching up. Basically they were giving me a 2nd degree "sunburn on the back of my tongue, but that was also scorching the snot out of my neck and chin. I lost my sense of taste and began to have uncontrolled salivary excretion. Couldn't stop producing spit, but it wasn't clear, it was this white slime. Totally disgusting.

By week 5, my chin and neck were like raw blistered hamburger. They gave me some sort of silver sulfide(?? I think that was the name of it) and that slowed the burn down and started the healing process.

By week 6, my throat was burned enough, I couldn't eat so they gave me a feeding tube in my belly. Had to eat through that for 3 weeks. At the same time, the salivary issue I had went full reverse. Total dry mouth, which i still have a year later.

By week 7, they finished up the treatments and I went into recovery phase. It took almost 3 weeks before I could get anything down my throat. Had to eat soft bland foods as they had no salt to irritate the hamburger throat. Had to keep a jug of water nearby all the time (and still do) due to the dry mouth. Had a couple of weeks of nausea as well. Not sure what caused that as it was after chemo had finished.

My last treatments were in middle of June. I returned to work middle of August. I should have taken a longer recovery but disability stops paying after 6 months.

I'm back driving now but still have side effects. Have a lymphadema under my chin where the radiation shredded my lymph nodes and lymphatic fluid distribution system. I've regained about 90% of my sense of taste back but things taste different, not better or worse, just different. Still no salivary production. Doc says it can take up to 18 months to return. If it doesn't return by the, it probably won't ever. I lost 65lbs due to the reduced eating from the radiation and nausea. I've gained about half that back though. The radiat I on also damaged my epiglotis and did minor damage to my vocal cords. Voice is raspy and I can't talk for long before my voice box tightens up and it gets difficult

There's other minor things but not worth mentioning.
So, it's a very real thing. I never did the oral thing with any of my ladies over the years. Just guess im one of the ones who are more susceptible to its development. Plus im sure that my doc waiting 14 months to address it had something to do with it. If he'd caught it sooner, might have been able to stave it off with meds...

Pay attention to your health. Get checked but don't buy into the stigma that it's a STD or crap like that

 

Sorry to hear you had to go through all that, glad to hear you’re on the other side of it. Hoping you keep on improving

 

Wow, sorry about your luck driver. It's a warning to us all. Couple of lessons here like you said, pay attention when something is wrong and get it looked at ASAP. Don't let just one doctor brush it off as nothing, get another medical opinion.

Also ALWAYS opt for "long term disability" if your employer offers it. It's playing russian roulette to not opt for long term disability. Most employers offer "short term disability" which will cover you for 6 months for free but long term is usually a deduction out of the paycheck that you pay for. In a situation like this it would be well worth the small price it cost long term disability will cover 5 years @ 65% or 75% of average gross wages or until retired (where im at it may be longer or shorter terms elsewhere)