I had a growth removed from my jaw line several weeks back, the biopsy came back positive for cancer

[devilgrrl]

:scared:

The doctor's office called this morning with the news and made an appointment to have a Mohs Surgery scheduled. That won't be until the end of July. Has anyone here ever had this surgery? I'm more worried than frightened at this point.

[Shell Beau]

1. Aw! No, I haven't but I can give you this

:hug:

[devilgrrl]

2. thanks :-)

That was very sweet of you.

[SPKrazy]

3. Jaw bone?

I had a tumor that was biopsied but luckily it was a benign tumor. They screwed up my nerves in my jaw though and they've never been the same, numb, tingling and painful.

I would think that Mohs would be good because they can identify exactly where the cancer cells are and just remove them instead of an excision of skin that would be larger than it need be, or deeper. :shrug:

:hug: sorry you are going through this

[devilgrrl]

5. I don't know what to think yet but I'm nervous

:scared:

[Genevieve]

18. PM me, I had MOH's.

And no, it's not for the bone.

[rebel with a cause]

44. I know nothing about this type of cancer or operation

but am going through the breast cancer thing. I had a tumor in each breast, and what was unusual was they were two different types of cancer. I'm always unique. ;) Anyway, my advise for you is to find out what you need to know but don't obsess on it. Keep you attitude positive, you will get through this. The attitude really does help you get through it all better. It is okay to be a little afraid but don't let it get you down. Breathe.

My operations went just fine, no complications. No chemotheropy because it would complicate my other illnesses, no radiology (they would burn my heart), so I am just doing the hormone threatments. Hoping that will be enough and the cancer does not come back, and I don't think it will. Anyway, good luck with your operation and any treatment that follows. :hug:

[KitchenWitch]

4. Oh no.

:hug:

You have my vibes comin' your way.

[devilgrrl]

6. Thanks.

Should I be scared?

[KitchenWitch]

7. I do not know.

I had Hodgkins Lymphoma. Much different type of thing. I guess if I were you I would hop on WebMD to get an idea what the Mohs procedure entails.

[ChickMagic]

9. Don't be scared

You have hugs galore here. I found out yesterday
that my 24 year old niece has colon cancer. She
got married in Sept 06 and had a baby about 4
months ago. She was comforting me. How
embarrassing.

For you - :hug:

[Shell Beau]

10. Only 24 with colon cancer? So sad!!

[ChickMagic]

11. She's meeting with the surgeon this afternoon

They are going to have to resect her colon.
Yeesh.

[redwitch]

29. Oh geez, I am so sorry to hear that ginbarn.

I hope she will be able to beat it, that baby needs her. :hug:

[devilgrrl]

41. Thank you and all the best to your niece...

a lot more serious than my situation!

:hug:

[ChickMagic]

61. But still, here I am

being comforted by the person I need to comfort. I didn't
mean to jack your thread. I just found out about it.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

[NJmaverick]

8. Sorry to hear that, check out this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_surgery

:hug:

[devilgrrl]

15. They made it sound very "routine" - let's hope that that's all it is.

:-(

[SeattleGirl]

12. Oh dear!

I've never had that type of surgery, but I agree with others that you should check out the procedure on WebMD. If you still have questions, write them down so you remember them, and then talk to your doctor to get some more answers.

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

13. I would just Google and find out as much as you can - get your doctor to give you info, too

I hope all goes well for you. This really sucks! :hug:

[undeterred]

14. Not familiar with it

but I wish you the best. :hug:

[XemaSab]

16. Oh dear...

Hope you can get it taken care of with minimal pain and effort. :(

[Genevieve]

17. I had Moh's surgery for a skin cancer

You can PM me if you want.

And don't worry.

[khashka]

19. Don't worry sweetheart.

It was just a growth, not bone cancer. Those things happen but aren't necessarily serious. My lover just had several cancers removed - worked out fine. If they thought it was really serious you'd be in the hospital now.

So relax. And don't worry.

Khash.

[liberaltrucker]

20. Prayers and vibes, dg

:hug:

[easttexaslefty]

21. Hope everything turns out okay

:hug:

[Genevieve]

22. I got your PM and I PMed you back. . nt

[GOPisEvil]

23. No information on Moh's, but best wishes.

[bigwillq]

24. Sending out my best vibes.

Good Luck. I know nothing about the surgery. I can only offer my best thoughts and wishes. :hug:

[devilgrrl]

25. Thank you everyone for your well wishes.

:hug:

[Raven]

26. Yes, I have heard of Moh's surgery. It is normal for the face area.

Go on the internet and you will find out a lot about it but be careful to be sure your surgeon is experienced in this type of surgery. If not, there are plenty who are. I guess the deal is to get down to the very last layer of the cancer and get it out without disfigurement. Check out the Docs in the Boston area who are experienced in this surgery...not everyone is. Good Luck!

[Whoa_Nelly]

27. Many Lounge Good Luck Mojo vibes to you!

Will be watching and waiting for your updates. :hug: :hug: :hug;


Wish I had info to offer, but since I don't, I send you love. :hug:

[LisaM]

28. Yikes

Well, I guess we all know a little more about Moh's than we did. I like the part on wiki that said, "low recurrance rate".

:yourock:

[huskerlaw]

30. Oh no!!

Sending you the best of vibes. :hug:

Let me know if there's anything I can do!

[redwitch]

31. Sorry to hear this.

I am hoping they have caught it fairly early. I know that many of the new procedures are much gentler. I wish you a great prognosis and a painless treatment regimen. :hug:

[NewEnglandGirl]

32. My friend had Mohs

on her face a few years ago. It's a good way to ensure that they will get all of the cancer,it's very effective. It wasn't that painful. She has absolutely no scar from it. I'm away, when I get back home I'll ask her more about it and tell you anything more that she said. This friggin computer I'm on now is soooo un-user friendly. p.s. make sure you research the doctor and know that he/she is very good at it and has done that type of surgery a lot.

[electron_blue]

33. Sending good vibes your way.

I hope it's the easily treatable kind (like my brother had).

[femmocrat]

34. So sorry to hear that, devilgrrl.

Hoping you have a quick and painless recovery. Too bad you have 6 weeks to worry about it.... that's rough.

:hug:

[Danger Mouse]

35. I don't know what it's about, but i wish you luck and good health.

[graywarrior]

36. five-year cure rates exceed 99 percent for new cancers, and 95 percent for recurrent cancers.

You should be fine. It is an effective surgery that should remove all cancerous cells. Research the hell out of it so you are not afraid of it.

[Fran Kubelik]

37. ,

:hug:

[ThomCat]

38. I don't have any useful knowledge about this

but I'm sending you my love and good vibes. :hug:

I am going to hope, very strongly, that you can have it all removed and never, ever see it again.

Please keep us up to date on how you are doing. You have friends here who will be worried about you.

[yellowdogintexas]

39. my good wishes. If this physician has done a lot of these, then you

should not have a thing to worry about. Moh's is the treatment of choice for basal and squamous cell cancers of the skin, and is designed to leave as little scarring as possible.

Good luck with this

[bertha katzenengel]

40. hey, devilgrrl

I don't know anything that can help, but i'm sending you good vibes. :hug:

[CreekDog]

42. saying a prayer for you now

for successful surgery and peace of mind in the interim. :hug:

[unpossibles]

43. hugs and good luck to you!

:hug: :grouphug: :hug:

[RainDog]

45. medical stuff is never fun, to me

but this has great success, according to the links and others' experience.

we're here for you.

[Pushed To The Left]

46. Sending good thoughts, vibes and prayers

:hug:

[FloridaJudy]

47. All I know

Is that it's done for skin cancer, not bone cancer. Believe me, skin is a lot better than bone, if you have cancer. Most skin cancers are relatively slow-growing - melanoma's the exception. I suspect if they're planning a Mohs (rather than a wide excision) you have the not-so-bad kind.

Be sure and ask your doc lots of questions. Take someone with you if you're feeling tense: sometimes information doesn't get through when one's anxious.

And here's a hug. :hug:

[Callalily]

48. I'm a little more

enlightened about Mohs reading the above posts.

Sorry that you have to go through this, but sending a ton of vibes your way, and praying for a swift and complete recovery.

:hug:

[applegrove]

49. Sending you vibes!

[SeaLyons]

50. here's a good link....

http://www.mohssurgery.ca/

It's a very successful surgery. Don't worry. You'll be fine.

[Eurobabe]

51. {{{{vibes}}}}}}

Hope everything turns out well for you. :hug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

52. Oh my! I hope that this can be taken care of quickly and easily! *hugs*

[blue cat]

53. My best to you.

Sending positive thoughts your way.

[lost-in-nj]

54. looks like you got a lot of advice here

but you can never have enough of these

:hug:


hope it will all work out.....


lost

[Parche]

55. Cancer

Has affected my whole family

Big hugs and prayers to you

:hug: :hug: :hi:

[driver8]

56. Mine, too.

I had an occular melanoma in my left eye -- had radiation and lost the sight of that eye. My father died of lung cancer in February, and my favorite uncle in the world is now battling lung cancer, as well. Also, my wife's Mom had skin cancer. (She is doing fine, now.)

Cancer fucking sucks.

[driver8]

57. devilgrrl, I am sorry you are going through this.

Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

:hug:

[mwdem]

58. Good luck, sweetie.

Check in the cancer support group here. It's not that bad there, I promise you.

[pokerfan]

59. My brother had it done

It was no big deal. It's soemthing like 99+% successful.

:grouphug:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

60. Thoughts and prayers go out to you.

Hopefully all will be fine. Thankfully these days the advancement in treatment has made things a lot better.