Hi and welcome to my blog.
My name is Jim, and the purpose of this blog is to document my journey as I go though treatment for squamous cell cancer of the mouth, in particular the base of the tongue, as a result of HPV.
I know I certainly didn't plan on this happening in my life, but it is what it is. My purpose in writing all of this is to share my experiences with anyone else who might be going through the same things as I am.
Some background:
I am 65 years old, male, Caucasian, and I live in California. I am not a smoker - never was. I do enjoy good wine, but I'm not what they call a heavy drinker. I represent the new norm of throat cancer patients, according to one of my doctors. It used to be that 80% of squamous cell cancers in the mouth were caused by "hard core" smokers and drinkers. Now, it's like 80% are cause as a result of HPV, or the Human Papillomavirus.
This all started with a lump on my neck that I noticed in September of 2011. It wasn't painful, but it was noticeable. After a course of basic antibiotics didn't clear it up, I was referred to a head and neck specialist. He biopsied the lump and on December 7th, 2011, I learned that it was cancerous.
Lesson Learned: Don't EVER dismiss a lump. Have it checked out.
The next step was a PET scan, which showed nothing. I remember getting the call from the doctor - "you have no source." In other words, they could not find a source of the cancer. Finding cancer in the neck lump only meant that there were cancerous cells in my lymph nodes. That wasn't the original source. Not finding it could mean that I would have to endure a lot of chemotherapy to kill the primary source of cancer, wherever it was. Not a pleasant thought.
The next step was an MRI, which was also forwarded to another specialist. He was the one who finally saw something that concerned him, and biopsied a small spot at the base of my tongue. That proved to be the source of my cancer.
Lesson learned: Just because one test doesn't show anything, go for another. Ask to have your results shown to a specialist if the first doctor is not sure. Luckily for me, they did this anyway.
The tumor at the base of my tongue was small enough that it could be removed surgically. After that, I would most likely have to have a course of radiation. If I didn't want surgery, I could opt for radiation and chemo, but the side effects of that option sounded horrendous. I decided for the surgery. Actually, it would be two surgeries - the first to remove the tumor and the second a few weeks later to remove the cancerous lymph nodes.
In my next post, I'll talk about my surgeries.
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