Terry Simmonds Head and Neck Cancer Blog
The diary of a head and neck cancer survivor.
When I was 1st told I had Jaw cancer I thought the worst and couldn’t really see any point of keeping a diary or blogging about it.
As it is now 18 months later, I’m 6 stone lighter, the fittest I have been in 30+ years and have been declared cancer free, I thought it was time I started blogging about my experience 🙂
As it is from memory the timelines may not be exactly correct and unfortunately I can’t remember the names of all my nurses, doctors, consultants, etc. but I’ll try to keep it as accurate as possible.
The posts on the right (or bottom if you are on a mobile) are in reverse chronological so if reading them start from the bottom 1st.
I believe the technical name for what I had was T4 N1 squamous cell carcinoma of the right mandible which was treated by right hemi-mandibulectomy and right neck dissection, with free fibula flap and chemoradiotherapy.
The 1st post starts here – April 2018 – You Have Cancer
Feel free to comment or share your experiences on any post
There is also a gallery showing my monthly jaw cancer photos
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Recent Posts
- My Christmas Tree From Christmas 2018
- Nothing to Worry About
- Just Muscle and Fat
- A New Lump to the Collection
- 3 Years After Operation for Jaw Cancer
- 3 Years After Being Told I had Jaw Cancer
- Still Wobbling On
- 2 Years on from Hearing I Had Cancer
- Early 2020
- The Last Months of 2019
- The Summer of 2019
- Be Careful with the Suntan Lotion
- Getting Ill When Recovering from Cancer
- How Stupid is the Tax Credit System Cancer Sufferers
- 12 Months on From Being Told I Have Cancer – A Brief Summary
- Can a 16 Plus Stone Man Become Anorexic
- Cancer Free and no more PEG
- Lymphatic treatment and having my PEG out
- Beginning My Return to Normality (Almost)
- Will I be Home for Christmas 2018
- Swelling, Lumps and Puffiness The Cancer is Back
- No More Radiotherapy
- Last Couple of Weeks of Radiotherapy
- The Bad Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Weeks and Back in Hospital
- Early Stages of Radiotherapy
- Radiotherapy – What’s all the fuss about?
- My 1st Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Sessions
- Back at home, the calm before the storm
- Having a Radiotherapy Mask Made
- Drips, overnight feeds and blood transfusions
- Back in Hospital
- 2 days at home then a near trip in the Air Ambulance
- Removing the elastics and going home
- Stitches out, Temperatures and Infections
- Time to try solid foods
- It’s Not Me You Want to Thank
- 3rd operation of the week
- The Infections and that Damned Heat
- Back on the Ward
- I Never Liked Lifts
- My 2nd Operation in a Week
- My 1st night after my operation
- The Day of the Operation
- My 1st Night in Hospital
- Pre Op Arrangements
- Having a Feeding Tube Fitted – Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG)
- Telling Your Family You Have Cancer
- Coventry Warwick Coventry
- April / May 2018 – You Have Cancer
Yep, me the same, I had gary walton and team with my jaw cancer right bottom mandible, except for technical reasons, I had a titanium plate instead, a month in 32, window seat and binos, watched the foxes boxing most mornings.
Fortunately for me, I didn’t have infections but i did have a little leak, bl7e water looking for drip, a slight one, wasn’t allowed even water by mouth.
3 yrs on, I had op, 12 hr, Sept 2013, I was getting a lump on left, really sore, bit like a wasp sting if touched, went to see Gary, had xray, the titanium plate had broken!!! Had to come out, recut my scar and removed it, I was expecting to wake up with 2ns trachea, as gary th9ught my jaw would swing over to the left, if so, peck muscle would-be added. Anyway, it didn’t gary was apparently waiting to tell me this when I woke up.,so relieved.
Well done, 10 yrs down the line, yes, I do st8ll have bugging discomfort in radiotherapy side effects, my tongue is slightly numb etc but, still here. Google Liese Healing, I did a head n neck cancer awareness piec3 that gary asked me to do.
Stay well Terry, alwa6s follow inner voice is my advice
Thanks Liese,
I remember reading about you (and the “bike chain”) back in 2018, just before my operation.
I always wondered how you got on, nice to hear that you are OK 🙂
I was finally signed off in August this year and saw Gary Walton for the last time – great guy as were all the staff at UHCW.
I wish I had made a note of more of the names of the people who looked after me.