No One Warned Me About The Pain

My name is Pat in 1990 I have a large tumor removed from my parotid gland. It was cancerous. I had some radiation and regretfully walked away because of tramatic family problems. In 1994 the cancer returned and I had a full regimine of radiation therapy. After treatment recovery I didn't have many problems except dry mouth but in the last few years my face has become more and more tender. I have aggrivating itchiness and pain all the time. My oncologist says its nerve damage and scar tissue. But my smile only half works now, my eye does not close when i blink and the skin around it is very sensitive as well as most of that side of my face being numb. Can anyone tell me why all this has happened years after the treatments. How long does radiation damage keep occuring. Does the pain and irritation ever go away. I've had 2 MRI's after the seven years mark but show no cancer, and thats a good thing but my Dr. has no satisfactory answers for me. Can anyone explain theses things to me? Sincerely, Pat

Though I have not had your condition, I have had a mastectomy from breast cancer. However, after reading about your problems, you might want to consider a good plastic surgeon, one that has experience in rebuilding damages caused from radiation treatments. Radiation also can cause skin problems from breast cancer and after researching my options, I chose a plastic surgeon who had lots of experience with cancer. Though you only hear about the ones who can reconstruct a breast, they are skilled in a lot of areas the public never hears about. Since your eye doesn't close well and your smile is affected, he may can reconstruct that area of your face and at the same time possibly remove the built up scar tissue. If you need a dermatologist for the itchiness, I would want to choose one that could work with the plastic surgeon. It would be worth a consultation to see if there is any help they could provide. Good luck!

I am sorry you are having such a bad time. Please see a neurologist. Your symptoms sound like Bell's Palsy. You may have pressure from scar tissue but it may be a viral condition of the facial nerve. Bell's usually goes away on it's own after several months. There are medications that can make you more comfortable. I think you can tough it out if you have to. Good luck!

A change in diet can help. I followed the ten commandment of health as talked about on the viedo "You can't improve on God" and within 18 months all the pain and other problems were gone. I continue to follow the advice and I am enjoying good health without any problems.
Naruth

Ask doc about Bells Palsy.

My ex wife had this and I've since met a number of others who
had a bout. Not associated with radiation for any of them but
symptoms are "similar" to what you describe.

I'm sorry that you have had problems following radiation for your parotid gland tumor. I originally looked on this site to get information about pain following radiation for breast cancer, but when I saw your posting, I had to write. I'm scheduled to have surgery May 23 for a parotid gland tumor, and I am worried about the pain that will follow. There is a site that has a forum that specifically is devoted to those with parotid gland tumors. Do a google search on parotid gland tumors, and you should be able to link somewhere in the first few listings to the wonderfully supportive group of people who have been through this. I'm excited to be a part of both of these forums (Cancer Compass and the other one), as I really need to gain insight from people who have gone through the types of cancer related issues that I'm dealing with. Best of luck and God bless.

http://patientsforum.com/cgi-bin/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;

Regards,
--Maria C.