Dear Eva, I had massive surgery to remove tumor in lower jaw & cheek followed by 30 radiation treatments which near killed me. I now suffer badly from side effects & nearly everything I eat gives a burning in the mouth. Just smelling some spices makes me burn & break out in massive sweat. Is there anything I can do to …
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Oral Cancer: Legal Euthanasia Case
I remember when my Grandma Doris at the age of 90 said to me, ‘My friends are all dead. I am tired of living and I don’t want to ever live in a nursing home. I’m ready to die.’ But there was nothing our family could do to honor her request. She lived until just after her 100th birthday and …
A Second Opinion for Oral Cancer Treatment
Once diagnosed with oral cancer, every survivor needs to obtain a second opinion about treatment options. Surgery and radiation with no chemo? Chemo and radiation with no surgery? How invasive is the surgery? How targeted is the radiation? How much chemotherapy? Hopefully, both opinion one seeks will be about the same. Then the choice becomes about which doctor the patient …
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“Dear Eva” – A letter from Yolanda
Hi Eva, I write to you because I’m desperate. I’m a 31 years old mother of two, and my oral cancer is back for the third time. Well, this time around there is no treatment since I have been radiated before. Everyone on the tumor board agrees no treatment should be given, however my radiation oncologist tells me we can …
PET Scans for Oral Cancer Check-up
Last year, I attended the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference as a Patient Advocate. I learned about the high doses of radiation from PET scans. In addition, they are often recommended three months after radiation when most people have not yet completely healed from the treatment. After such a short period after treatment, there are a lot of …