Latest Laryngeal Cancer discussions http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/cancers/head-and-neck-cancers/laryngeal-cancer/1,0,119,39,22.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Hello. My mother is 53 years old she was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in oct 2007. She has gone through 10 sessions of radiation and currently is one her way to her 4th set of chemo treatments. She has been on 5 fu pump and carboplatin. She has advanced disease. Her doctor told us she will die from this. We are very scared and are looking for alternatives to help her. In my heart she will not die from this and I strongly beleive this. The other problem is the scarring from radiation and the tumor are blocking her airway and for this reason unless it miraculously clears she will have her trach for life. This is very sad because it is painful and she always has infections. I placed her on so,me herbal remedies such as the cheese/oil cure, acai and now mangosteen. We are tring to pump as many antiox and vit and minerals in her to help her body fight. We need help please. Any suggestions about anything would be helpful . Thanks. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,21742,0.htm Trish28 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT I'm going on 30, returning student who lacks health insurance.  Back in Oct I started to develope tiny bumps in my throat--the entire oropharnyx--bumps spread behind lower back molars. The bumps are flesh colored. I, like another poster with similiar problems, also have an inflamed left tonsiI, and I too have impacted wisdon teeth. I believe that I have had tonsil stones in the past--another wierd throat scare that I ened up dismissing as a cyst when it popped--and possibly post nasal drip.This is why I'm scared. I have had hpv for yrs, never had any real problems, but logically believe that I do have the virus in my throat. I have also smoked and drank for years. When I go to doctors(not specialist), I'm told they see nothing, don't know what it is, or say it's nothing. Since I have no insurance I'm convinced that they are (1)incompetent (2)lying to me about the information they have regarding hpv and throat cancer(I have had 2 women doctors tell me there is no connection before this Hopkins study was released (3)refuse to do anything because it may be in the begining stage (4) make me feel crazy by giving me pysc drugs to take my mind off of the fact that I can't get help because that would entail some sort of "socialized healthcare."So I'm crazy and scared. My schooling is falling apart, am now practically disabled my feelings of hoplessness, and broke. My whole life has already been to hard. If anyone can give me any information about what this could possibly be, please help. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,12267,0.htm Suicidal Tue, 22 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hello,DH was diagnosed in March with stage 4 cancer of the larynx.  He just finished his 10 radiation treatment.  This journey is harder than I ever thought it would be.DH is only 50 and in excellent health (other than the cancer).  He is a non-smoker.The cisplat was terrible!  We go in for round 2 on May 7th!  He is pretty scared.  He also has severe reactions to the Ethyol injections prior to radiation.  Voice is starting to go and food issues have only begun.  He has a peg tube, but we aren't using it yet.Looking for someone who is also going through this to chat with.  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,11645,0.htm Reading2kids Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT My Mom was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer of the throat in October of 2006.  A year or two prior, she had been having some issues with her voice, which had changed, and also had a bad odor coming from her mouth.  Her weight was down from 125 lbs. to 110 lbs. or so- and didn't have much of an appetite.  Several doctors prior to Oct. '06, suspected it was a post nasal drip- or allergy related.  Once her voice changed and became very hoarse, she went to an ENT guy who took a look down her throat and saw a tumor at her larynx.  The biopsy came back positive and she was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer.  More tests revealed that it had spread to her lymph nodes, and she was basically Stage 4 at the time of diagnosis.  The Mayo clinic in Scottsdale, AZ., agreed with the diagnosis, and concurred with the prescribed treatment of radiation and chemo.  They said if it had spread to her liver or lungs, they would not recommend any treatment at all, just care and comfort.   She began treatment at UMC in Tucson in November of 2006.  The first 20 or so radiation doses were aimed at the throat.  A month later, a scan of her head indicated several "spots" in her brain.  Spots, as they say, are synonomous with tumors and lesions- one in the same.  She did an addition 10 radiation treatments to her brain.  She went on a feeding tube during the radiation.After the radiation, she began 3 cycles of chemo, using Cisplatin.  Near the end of the 1st treatment, her hearing began to worsen, and the doctors recommended one more cycle of Chemo, using Carboplatin.  After this second cycle, she was going to have more scans to determine if any progress was being made.  At this point the prognosis was very poor, and in late February of 2006, she was given 2-3 months to live. She didn't know she was dying- nor did she want to.  We respected her wishes and carried on as though this was just a temporary sickness.During the 3 weeks off from chemo, her airway nearly closed up completely, and she had to have an emergency tracheotomy.  After the procedure, more scans revealed that her throat tumor had grown back, and she had 8-10 lesions (tumors) in her lungs as well.  She was on a ventilator for 1 week, and never regained consciousness.  She died 10 days later, in hospice with family at her side.  She was 64 years old. Neuroendocrine cancer is very rare, and not much is known about it.  She smoked from 1960 to 1985 or so- but lived a very healthy lifestyle after  that.  I suspect it was related to smoking, but that's just my guess.  Please email me if I can be of any help or answer any questions.  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,11578,0.htm Cdub67 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT PLEASE PLEASE respond if u have knowledge or have had your voice box removed! due to cancer! I am 60 yrs. old & the 39 radiation treatments didn't workx. I live in SC & haven't found any support groups 4 this kind of cancer. I want to find out if anybody else has been thru this & can help me to understand some things.....how do i eat, drink or talk after this voice box removal. My doctor seems eager to operate but can't tell me the stage of cancer until after he operates. I thought since the radiation didn't work maybe chemo.but Doctor said it wouldn't help. Surgery is the only answer!  My health is not good, diabetis, high blood pressure & arthritis in some joints. After reading a lot of "stuff" on the internet many people (who have passed on) said if they could go back & do it again they would not agree to the surgery with stage 4 cancer! Seems like a lot of percentages with people who didn't live very long after the operation! Doctor said some lymph nodes would have to be removed but I don't know how many!  I would appreciate some feed back from anyone that can address any of these issues.I have surgery scheduled the 2nd.week of April  & I will admit that I fear that this is going to kill me! I am alone & don't know who I can reach out to. I can only whisper & please tell me if there r any devices to help patients like me. I would greatly appreciate any replies to this email. God Bless u all!  ----------------- lX-07osh  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,10857,0.htm Heyladee55 Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT My 64 mother has been diagnosed with stage 4 laryngeal cancer. She has opted not to have a total removal of her voice box. She has opted to have chemo and radiation . Right know she has a trach to breathe, has anyone had this treatment. Im wonder if she will have additional problems with the treatment because of this. Any information is appreciated.                                                              scared daughter http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,9887,0.htm Leman Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hello,I just came across this site/message board and this is my first post. I'm still trying to sort out all the terminology. Here's how this has unfolded.Early December 2006 my wife mentioned a lump on the right side of her neck just below the ear. The lump was noticeable and we decided to "watch" it for a few days and see if it went away. My wife had no symptoms at all  After a few days the lump had not changed and we went to see our family doctor who prescribed Levaquin for ten days. After completing the antibiotic there was no change in the lump and we went back to the family doc.We were then sent to a surgeon for a biopsy. The surgeon said this looked like something an ENT specialist should look at so we got referred to an ENT.The ENT ordered a CT scan to see if the lump was in a salivary gland or a lymph node. CT scan came back and showed the lump was an enlarged lymph node (3.5 cm x 3.2 cm x 1.5 cm).The ENT then did a needle aspiration biopsy. After a few days the ENT said the needle biopsy was inconclusive and the lymph node had to be removed.On 2/12/07 they removed the lymph node. My wife did very well and went home the same day. Prior to the surgery the ENT said there was a 50-50 chance it would be lymphoma. Two days ago (2/20) I took my wife back to get her stiches out and we got the biopsy results. Biopsy came back and showed a non small cell metastatic carcinoma. This was not what we expected because the needle biopsy had been negative, but the ENT said it may have been a case where the sample he took could have been from good tissue. He then put a fiberoptic scope down her nose and found a small (?) 1 cm squamous cell carcinoma on the right side of her epiglottis. The ENT said that we should probably expect 7 wks radiation, five times per week as well as the possibility of some chemo, but that the two oncologists he was referring her to would decide.Next step will be a PET scan (we are awaiting approval). On Monday we have an appointement with a Medical Onc. as well as a Radiation Onc. That's the reader's digest version of what has happened to my wife in the last two and a half months. (Sorry to be so long winded.)After trying to do as much search as possible, it appears that the cure is maybe worse than the disease. Some of the posts here make the treatment sound absolutely ghoulish and horrible. Any advice would be helpful. Any input on what questions to ask the oncologists would be really helpful. I think I know most of the questions I'd like to get answers on but input would sure help. Any good websites for answers? The stuff available on the web is overwhelming. Thank you. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,9833,0.htm Waltm5615 Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT My father has cancer of the larnyx and finish chemo and radiation right before x-mas. the past week or two his neck has started to swell and its just getting worse. is this normal?? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,9312,0.htm Lilsaunt Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT My daughter, age 40, was diagnosed with cancer of the tonsil. She had them both removed, they also did a neck disection. She is now going into phase 2 with radiation coming in a couple more weeks. This week she will go in and they will make the radiation mask. She is petrified, since she is clostraphobic. Can anyone give me some words of advice to comfort her? She isn't married and is going through this with family love and support. Her surgery was 4 weeks ago and she is still having trouble swallowing meats. Has anyone else been in this situation and can you tell me how long this will go on? She has lost 20# and needs to gain before the radiation treatments. Her right ear and side of the neck is still numb from the surgery. Any supportive words will help. A caring mother http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,8091,0.htm Pm1947 Sun, 03 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT I was treated for laryngeal cancer 4 yrs. ago with a combination of radiation and chemo. I am doing fine except I have broken capilliaries all over my neck as a result of the radiation. I was told that this was atypical. I am very self-conscious. I had a few laser treatments (which were very painful), but the results were minimal. I live in NYC. Let me know if you had a similar experience (broken capillaries) and if you had laser treatment. Thank you. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,6886,0.htm Miche Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT My husband has Stage #4 metastatic cancer of the larynx. It has just come back in the lung. He starts very agressive chemotherapy next week but has been told it is "palliative", incurable. We are willing to go anywhere, try anything. I have found no clinical trials that he qualifies for. What can we expect from this three drug chemo protocol? How serious will the side effects be? Might not the treatment be worse than the disease? This is a very dark and frightening road. Worried Wife http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,6859,0.htm Worried Wife Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT My husband has Stage #4 metastatic laryngeal cancer. He was originally diagnosed in 03, had aggressive chemotherapy and radiation and after three years it is back with two tumors in the lung. A chemo "cocktail" of taxotere, cisplatin, and 5FU is to be started next week but we are told it will most certainly come back even if the tumors shrink or disappear. Does anyone know of any other options? He has no symptoms but there is this "time bomb" about to go off..........This treatment is "pallative"; there is no cure. We are devastated. Why bother at all? What can we expect from this form of treatment? We would go anywhere, try anything if it could give us any hope. Does anyone know of a single case of five year survival with this stage? If so what did this person do? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,6798,0.htm Worried Wife Thu, 07 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT Hi, I have had 4 weeks of radiation for cancer to the vocal chord, it has been a month now since my last rad. treatment and I am feeling a lot better, my appetite has returned, I can eat most things now, I am drinking better, but not as good as I hoped for, swallowing is difficult, especially water, I am sleeping better, and feeling fitter, my only problem is the voice, or lack of it, my voice went months before I started radiation and has not returned yet, although people tell me it is stronger, I can't see it myself, I just wondered if anyone has gone through the same and how has it affected their voice, how long did it take for your voice to return to normal, if it ever does? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,4797,0.htm Benjomax Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT I was 34 when diagnosed, thank god for the university of Michigan otolyrangology dept, for my successful surgery. I have been cancer free for 2 years last may 11th. My local cancer center was not convinced with my age that radiation would be the right treatment, even though I was all prepared for it and was going to start the day before they sent me! My dr's name is: Dr. Norman Hogikyn, is the head of the department. I would recommend that hospital! It was (to everyone's surprise) operable and I no longer had it, also with no follow up's of any kind...meaning radiation or chemo! http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,2539,0.htm Mistified Wed, 20 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT I am in stage 1. What can I expect after treatments starts? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,2452,0.htm Singinles Wed, 13 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT After 41 hits, the last on Jan 23,2k4, I still cannot swallow because of scar tissue. The more I learn the more I see I may never swallow again because of the severity of tissue burn. Giving up my Larynx and repairing my esophagus is even out of the question, as per Shock Trauma ENT Surgeons. Burnt tissue will not heal and more complications will unfold so anyone having "ANY RADIATION" best be informed about the amount and consequences. WARNING, stay away from the Greenbelt Radiation Center, Greenbelt MD and Dr. Lawrence Shombert because he does not care about the individual,only killing the symptom. If you want to live in hell, go see him and he'll welcome you into his web of deceiving lies. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,2445,0.htm Razor Tue, 12 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT Will undergo surgery in February '05 to have voice box removed and resection of esophagus due to scaring tissue from radiation. Are there any techniques available to save my Larynx?? My epiglottis and all tissue around it are cooked therefore no swallowing since last November '04 and this is my last chance before major surgery and not being able to talk. "HELP, SOS," Ray W. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,1440,0.htm Razor Fri, 24 Dec 2004 00:00:00 GMT My father is having surgery and after surgery he will not be able to talk anymore; I need to find out about how he can communicate when someone calls his house and where to get the equipment and how much it costs. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,643,0.htm Shawana R. Tue, 14 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT I am looking for treatment options for stage 4, laryngneal cancer. My dad (from MA) started with Radiation, then Surgery and now low dose chemo. He is maintaining his weight (original 195, since July 138) but loosing his strength. I am sure a lot has to do with the morphine patches and oxycontin. Any suggestions from someone who has been there would be greatly appreciated. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,607,0.htm Cheryl F. Sat, 21 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMT