Dear Eva, 5 down and 25 to go! I’m having a lot of anticipatory anxiety before the treatment and am fine after it. Some of my appointments are at night because I haven’t gotten into an earlier slot soon enough. Waiting all day gets to me, mainly nauseous. Any tips for me ? I need to calm this stomach of …
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PAIN: The Most Common Symptom of Oral Cancer
If anyone can give lessons on coping with life challenges it’s Neil Arnold. What is it like to be Neil, a retired OBGYN and 24-year late stage oropharyngeal survivor? Neil no longer speaks. He is a laryngectomee and due to recurrences, he can no longer articulate words. He lives in silence. What impressed me was his staunch independence. When the …
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Move Beyond the Fear of Recurrence: Live Life with Joy
Dear Eva, Are we ever really able to move beyond the fear of recurrence? Suzanne, Yes. After 5 years, the chances of a recurrence of the cancer are greatly reduced. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t get a new primary….along with every other human being on the planet. Cancer is random. Like a car/plane crash or a tragedy of some …
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Who Is The Bravest Of Them All?
“That’s Eva Grayzel!” Rachel declared to her husband Tim. She gave me a big hug and told me I was her hero since she was a survivor of mouth cancer. I had no idea she followed all my posts online. Meeting Rachel and Tim has likewise changed my life. We were both speakers at the Gloucestershire Independent Dentist Conference and …
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Dental Implants Are “Cosmetic” After Head and Neck Cancer
I had one molar pulled before starting radiation for stage IV oral cancer. Over the years, I’ve had two more molars extracted. When I called my insurance company to find out if they will cover dental implants, they said they would only cover dentures. Why? ‘Implants are cosmetic.’ I didn’t occur to me to ask if they cover breast reconstruction after …