1. < Head & Neck Cancer

Sarcoma of nasal cavity - any input?

Posted by prettyflower @prettyflower, Nov 15, 2023

New member here -- hello friends! I've been reading the posts for a few weeks. My healthy 81 year-old husband has been diagnosed with a left side nasal sarcoma. His doctor says sarcoma in this area is pretty rare, and this is backed up by my not seeing any similar posts here. They're talking surgery -- a combination of endoscopic and open -- followed by radiation therapy. The open part of the surgery will be a craniotomy in order to avoid fluid leakage and to get as much of the cancer as possible. This combined with the side effects of radiation later has me pretty apprehensive and scared for my husband. He is a lifelong musician (brass instruments), and I fear he may never be able to comfortably play again. I know I've covered a lot of subjects here. Does anyone have any solid feedback on what we can expect in the short and long term? And why does a doctor choose radiation over chemotherapy? Please forgive -- I am learning about cancer for the first time. I thank you!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Head & Neck Cancer Support Group.

Mentor
William Olsen, Volunteer Mentor | @hrhwilliam | Nov 16, 2023

Hello @prettyflower and welcome. You are probably at this point saying “Yikes!!!!”. As this sarcoma is addressed the treatment will be adjusted as more information is obtained. The cell structure and sub type will be determined by surgical biopsy which in turn helps determine post surgery treatments. Chemo without radiation or vise versa may be the direction.
Try as I have, my bugle can’t get the notes for funeral Taps since my lower left side lip has no nerve feeling. But there are new things I do now so life goes on.
Make sure your husband gets a good team of surgeons who have experience in this specific situation. Don’t settle or be steered by some cowboy who will give it a try. Large cancer centers or clinics like Mayo have people who work as a team and have experience in just about every imaginable situation when it comes to cancer surgery and treatment. The decision is yours, not the local hospital. Do what is best for the patient.
Let’s see where your discussion here on Connect leads. This is an excellent place to start so again, welcome.

REPLY
1 reply
prettyflower | @prettyflower | Nov 16, 2023
In reply to @hrhwilliam "Hello @prettyflower and welcome. You are probably at this point saying “Yikes!!!!”. As this sarcoma is..." + (show)
@hrhwilliam

Hello @prettyflower and welcome. You are probably at this point saying “Yikes!!!!”. As this sarcoma is addressed the treatment will be adjusted as more information is obtained. The cell structure and sub type will be determined by surgical biopsy which in turn helps determine post surgery treatments. Chemo without radiation or vise versa may be the direction.
Try as I have, my bugle can’t get the notes for funeral Taps since my lower left side lip has no nerve feeling. But there are new things I do now so life goes on.
Make sure your husband gets a good team of surgeons who have experience in this specific situation. Don’t settle or be steered by some cowboy who will give it a try. Large cancer centers or clinics like Mayo have people who work as a team and have experience in just about every imaginable situation when it comes to cancer surgery and treatment. The decision is yours, not the local hospital. Do what is best for the patient.
Let’s see where your discussion here on Connect leads. This is an excellent place to start so again, welcome.

Jump to this post

@hrhwilliam Thank you so much for the encouragement. We are in Louisville, Kentucky where health care education and systems reign. I have felt confident so far. My husband's rhinologist/surgeon said the tumor board has 3 doctors experienced in sarcoma treatment. It's funny -- we don't feel threatened by the cancer itself since it is localized and other stats I've seen show favorable outcomes. It's the side effects of treatments and risks of the surgery that have us spooked. I suppose that's normal.

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
William Olsen, Volunteer Mentor | @hrhwilliam | Nov 16, 2023
In reply to @prettyflower "@hrhwilliam Thank you so much for the encouragement. We are in Louisville, Kentucky where health care..." + (show)
@prettyflower

@hrhwilliam Thank you so much for the encouragement. We are in Louisville, Kentucky where health care education and systems reign. I have felt confident so far. My husband's rhinologist/surgeon said the tumor board has 3 doctors experienced in sarcoma treatment. It's funny -- we don't feel threatened by the cancer itself since it is localized and other stats I've seen show favorable outcomes. It's the side effects of treatments and risks of the surgery that have us spooked. I suppose that's normal.

Jump to this post

You are correct that the treatments and side effects can have you spooked. The recovery from treatment goes on for months/years sometimes.
Yes you are in a good area for treatment. Some folks have done well with surgery and supportive recovery drugs such as Keytruda but every case is unique. Learn as much as you can about what will transpire. Good healing and God bless you both.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.