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DiscussionMeet others living with Head & Neck Cancer: Introduce yourself
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: 8 hours ago | Replies (545)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "@michgirv, are they referring to your husband's cancer as Cancer of Unknown Primary? How is he..."
They think the parotid gland is the primary site. His PET scan was clear otherwise. Yes, he is getting chemo and radiation simultaneously and doing really well. It's only been a week so we're waiting for the hammer to drop so to speak. It is stage 4 which made my heart drop. I'm a retired RN and I worked hospice. My husband worked in the lab (retired from there) that got the specimen initially. They knew cancer but further staining confused the issue more. They sent it to Cleveland Clinic and 4 weeks later it came back unspecified type. After surgery Mayo, Jax worked on it and sent it to Rochester and they came to the same conclusion. They ran a sarcoma panel on it which we'll be discussing at the next oncologist appointment. In the report there was a possibility of a familial syndrome and we're scheduled with a genomic specialist in April. We have 3 children, two had melanoma and the other squamous cell of the lip. We also have 4 grandchildren and want to know if this is a concern. As for me, doing ok but I have a severe autoimmune disease (had rheumatoid arthritis as a child) that has affected my peripheral nervous system, blood vessels and now the autonomic system is involved. I also have pulmonary arterial hypertension from autoimmune problems. Asking me how I'm doing is a loaded question! LOL. Trying to stay upright long enough to care for my husband as he has been doing for me. Right now, he's doing better than me! I apologize for the lengthy response and thank you for asking. Life is a mess but taking it one step at a time.