Life's Curve Ball

In November 2005 my family physician Dr. Elaine Blue suggested I get the lump in my neck checked out. According to the CT Scan there was a mass but all tissue was normal. May 2006 I had surgery to remove a saliva gland. It was a same day procedure that left a two inch scar on my neck. Five days later I went to have the stitches removed and found out I had cancer.

The following day I was sent to the University of Pennsylvania to meet with
Gregory S. Weinstein, MD, FACS Director of the Head and Neck Surgery Division. Doctor Weinstein told me I had Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in only 4% of people. So on June 6th, 2006 I had a neck disection.

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Two days after surgery. Forty one staples and two drains.

July 2006 I started radiation treatments with Steven Perch, MD a specialist in Radiation Oncology. The first two weeks were not bad except for having my head bolted down to a table with this custom mask.

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After that the side effects lost of appetite, sun burn, mouth sores, fatigue, the worst sore throat I had ever had in my life it felt worse than the surgery. By the end I lost 43 pounds and had a real nice sun burn on one side of my face.