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Update - July 2005
I intended this page as a good place to post stories about mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
From all reports, there are very few resources on the web focusing on this very
rare cancer, and those sites which do focus on parotid carcinoma tend to be full
of success stories for other, more treatable varieties.
For now, you can read about Karen S.,
Michelle, Pam's Dad,
Nancy K., Christine,
Kim W., Barbara, Lisa,
and Ryan below. I had considered creating a public
forum for my site, which would include a section for cancer stories, but the
time commitment to maintain a forum seems beyond my ability at this time.
Please feel free to e-mail me a short bio to post, subject to the
standard disclaimers. I'm happy to include links
to other personal sites, or to general sites of similar intent. Due to increased
spam (from listing my email address on this page) I've had to change the address
to cancerstory (at) this domain. The old address is now a black hole - email
sent to that address is deleted before I even download it.
Thanks to Michelle's mom, Lori, for pointing me to
patientsforum.com, a website devoted
to patients of tumors of the parotid gland. That site has more stories, as
well as a discussion forum. As of this writing, I haven't yet talked to the
organizers of that site, but I would like to establish contact to see if and how
we can collaborate.
Karen S., 32 year old female from Holmdel,
NJ
Submitted August 2001I was recently diagnosed with Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma,
Intermediate Grade. (on the floor of my mouth) and it has changed my life
forever.
June 18, 2001 they found the tumor at my dentist office during
a routine visit.
June 21, 2001 the oral surgeon removed the tumor thinking it was
benign.
June 23, 2001 My 32nd birthday, spent it recovering.
June 26, 2001 I got the call, it was malignant, Mucoepidermoid.
After consulting with a few Head and Neck Oncologist including Memorial
Sloan-Kettering, I decided to go with University of Pennsylvania. It was
a hard decision.
July 21, 2001 I had an 8 hour surgery at the University of Pennsylvania
with an excellent doctor, which included removing some lymph nodes, and
a huge part of the floor of my mouth. That was the definitely the hardest
recovery I have ever encountered. Feeding tubes and trachea.. I had the
whole works.
August 6, 2001 Results from my surgery, all clean margins and
lymph nodes. However, one bad thing I have perineural invasion, so he recommends
radiation.
On August 27th I will start my radiation in Toms River, NJ and
am very nervous about it, the side effect will not be fun.
I'm looking for others with this rare Mucoepidermoid, I would love
to hear other stories and be each other support team. I have had no luck
except for Barney's story. Bless his heart. I thank you Bruce a million
times over for letting me tell my story on your site.
my email: karen [at] interactivepros (dot) com
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Michelle, 14 year old female from Connecticut (as told by her mother)
Submitted February 2002March (?) 2000 - Michelle feels a lump
on the side of her face/jaw in front of her right earlobe. Unbelievably,
she tells me from day 1 that this is a tumor! I tell her she is overreacting.
The physician's assistant in the doctors office believes it is just a swollen
gland that could be due to acne or a canker sore in her mouth.
November 2000 - Lump is still there, so we have it checked again.
It is slightly bigger now. Physician's assistant sends us to an ENT Surgeon
to have it checked out. ENT doctor thinks this is a self-contained, solid
benign tumor in her right parotid gland (main salivary gland). It's unusual
for someone so young to have one, but these are not uncommon in the salivary
glands.
December 2000 - When the doctor goes in to remove the lump, he
finds that it is not self-contained and is in fact characteristic of a malignant
tumor. The facial nerve is involved, so he does not attempt removal. He
only removes enough for a biopsy and closes up. Lab results come back mucoepidermoid
carcinoma. We are then sent to see a specialist (Otolaryngologist) at Yale
Medical Center.
January 2001 - Surgery is scheduled to remove entire right parotid
gland with facial nerve grafting to be done (maybe 2 out of the 5 main nerves).
They plan to remove nerves from her leg and graft to the facial nerves involved.
Prognosis on the nerve grafting is paralysis for 9 to 12 months (she would
look like a stroke victim) with anywhere from full recovery of feeling and
movement to possibly permanent paralysis. We won't know prognosis on tumor
until after surgery. We prepare for the worst.
Surgery is a major success! The surgeon was able to remove the entire
tumor without sacrificing any of the facial nerves. He also did what is
called a partial neck dissection, which is to remove the lymph nodes closest
to the tumor. Margins on the tumor were clean and lymph nodes were clear.
Michelle had some minor paralysis in the corner of her mouth and lower jaw
due to the surgeon having to manipulate the nerves during surgery. They
were bumped and bruised and scraped for biopsy. This was only temporary
and lasted about 3 months. After meeting with radiology specialists, we
decided against follow-up radiation. Due to Michelle's age, we felt that
the possible side effects from radiation were greater than the chance of
reoccurrence without radiation.
This all sounds neat and tidy, but between November 2000 and January
2001, we saw many different specialists. We talked to doctors at The Children's
Hospital (Harvard) and the Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston. We consulted
a Pediatric Oncologist here in Connecticut. We spoke to radiology oncologists
at Yale in New Haven and at the Wittingham Cancer Center in Norwalk. I tried
to find any information online. There is not much out there on this type
of cancer, and there is even less out there on kids who get it.
August 27, 2001 - Michelle feels a lump on the right side of her
neck between her ear and shoulder. She has strep throat and the doctors
tell us it is a swollen lymph node due to infection. We are told to finish
antibiotics and wait 3 weeks. Lump is still there.
September 20, 2001 - We are sent to ENT doctor to have it checked.
He also believes that it is swollen lymph node. Wait another 3 weeks.
October 10, 2001 - Michelle is due for quarterly checkup with
Otolaryngologist at Yale. We have him check it for us. He believes it may
be due to acne and agrees with the other doctors diagnosis'. He orders
a chest x-ray and puts Michelle on a stronger antibiotic for 14 days. She
is also seeing a dermatologist and using a prescription face wash and ointment
for acne. October 31 - Chest x-ray clear, still thinks lump is swollen lymph
node.
January 30, 2002 - Acne seems to be under control and lump still
has not gone away. We call the doctor at Yale to have him look at it one
more time. He still thinks that it is just a swollen lymph node, but has
scheduled a needle biopsy to be sure.
February 2002 - Needle biopsy performed. Preliminary results say
everything is ok.
Even though this turned out to be nothing, we will always think every
lump or bump is the cancer returning. I wish my daughter didn't have to
live her life with that kind of "black cloud" always there.
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Submitted September
2, 2002 Hi! My name is Pam and I thought I'd send
you my dads story (to date).
In 1-02 my dad (age 68) found a lump next to his
right ear. This was just after a visit to the dentist. He talked
to the dentist who said he hadn't felt anything and it was probably just
a blocked duct. After antibiotics didn't get rid of the lump, the
dentist referred him to a dental surgeon. This Dr. determined that
it was a tumor but was likely to be benign. The FNA came back inconclusive.
In 2-02 my dad had surgery to remove the tumor.
Unfortunately, the biopsy they took during surgery came back malignant so
they had to stop the surgery. He was at an outpatient facility and
now the procedure became too much for the Dr. to handle. So in
3-02 my dad had a 7 hour surgery to remove the tumor. The lymph
nodes were left in because they were clear. The surgery went well
with some facial paralysis. The biopsy came back mucoepidermoid cancer.
So my dad endured 8 weeks of radiation.
Six weeks after finishing radiation (7-02), the
cancer was back! Now our options were severely limited. We could
let it go and my dad would die. Reading Barney's Story told just how
his death would happen. While it was very difficult to read the story
I am so glad I had that kind of info available to me. The surgeons
gave my dad another option. Very radical surgery. Very disfiguring
surgery! My dad really wanted to know if the surgery would be worth
it. He was given about a 25 % chance of full recovery by one doc.
Another told him he had to have the surgery because if he didn't his death
would be a very unpleasant one but with the surgery when (not if according
to our "doom and gloom" doc) the cancer came back it would do so in another
area (brain or lungs) and they could make him more comfortable while he
was dying. What a decision to have to make. My dad decided to
try the surgery.
On 8-27-02 he underwent 16 hours of surgery.
This included removing a lot of muscle, skin all around the cancer cells.
This meant my dad lost pretty much all of the right side of his face!
Yes, my dad no longer has an ear on his right side. He lost a bit
of upper jawbone (right across from the ear). His eye and mouth are
alright except for the previous paralysis. His mouth is off centered
because of the jawbone part they took. That can be taken care of with
some kind of device. They also removed the back lymph nodes because
they found the cancer was just beginning there. They also removed
the jugular vein since some cells were on it. There was a team of
three doctors during the surgery. One did the "top" stuff, the 2nd
was the deep skull surgeon and the 3rd was the muscular-vascular surgeon
who did the reconstruction. They took tissue and muscle from my dads
back and "tunneled" it up to his face and then reattached it. It covers
everything they removed including where his ear used to be. They say
in a few months he can have another surgery to attach a fake ear.
Yippee, more surgery. My dad spent 4 days in surgical ICU and then
one day in an intermediate care unit. Then they released him.
He came home last night.
His recovery has been faster than we thought possible.
He never even had time to heal from the RT. I think his stubbornness
has helped him. I know I've included quite a lot of details.
But I couldn't find any info about this type of surgery anywhere.
The patientsforum is wonderful but most of the tumors are benign (luckily!)
and there isn't any info about what my dad went through. So now if
someone else reaches these same steps maybe they'll have a bit more info
than I did.
This was a very brutal surgery and there were many times
during the first few hours that I wondered just what we had done and whether
it was the right choice. My dad saw himself for the first time today
(9-2-02) and was pretty shocked by what he saw. We knew all
along that the ear would go. We knew just what would be done.
But there is nothing to prepare you for the reality. My dad is a strong
man who doesn't usually care what other people think about how he looks
but even he is scared of people seeing him now. I hope as he heals,
and the stitches come out, and the skin blends together more, I hope he
isn't scared anymore.
I know that no matter what he looks like now, he is still
my dad. And now he has a chance at life again. Even if its only
a slight chance. Feel free to use this story any way you want.
The more information people can get, the better they can make decisions.
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Nancy
K. Received September 7, 2002
I found a small bump last summer (2001) which turned out to be
a parotid tumor, and in December I had surgery to have it removed. It turned
out to be mucoepidermoid carcinoma, low-grade. Although the tumor was already
in the muscle and fat tissue, all the margins were clean. My surgeon discussed
radiation with me but I have decided not to have it yet. He doesn't think
it will come back. I am now 48 years old and healthy, with no cancer in
the family.
I think I also remember you saying you went to University Hospital in
Cleveland. I am also from the Greater Cleveland area, but I went to the
Cleveland Clinic. I had a great ENT surgeon, Dr. Strome. After surgery I
had complete paralysis on the left side of my face which started coming
back after about 3 months, and was 99% after 6 months. But I still feel
he saved the nerve, other surgeons would have cut it.
Please write back if you can. I would be glad to share any other information
if you're interested.
Nancy K.
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Christine Received
October 4, 2002
Hi. I am a 36 year old mother of 3 children and also had
mucoepidermoid carcinoma. I was diagnosed right after my second child was
born. I had a lump for 2 years and had been to a couple of doctors (an ENT
and an oral surgeon) and they both felt it was a benign mass. I finally
sought out another ENT who did remove and it turned out malignant. This
was exactly 5 years ago. I did not do any radiation on his advice and on
advice of ENT at Sloan Kettering, however, I get a yearly MRI.
I would be happy to share my story as this is the first
website I've come on like this. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is so rare. Thank
you for starting this site.
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Kim W. Received
November 3, 2003
I can't thank you enough for taking the time to spell, out in detail,
Barney's story. Information is scarce on the internet! My uncle
is about where Barney was in June of 2002. But, nobody will give us
any information about a prognosis. His ENT surgeon sent him for radiation
after the initial tumor was removed, then returned within two weeks.
Then the ENT sent him to another surgeon at OU Medical Center, who said
he couldn't do surgery because it would come right back and it would take
off too much of his face. The surgeon has referred him to an oncologist
for possible chemotherapy(2 1/2 weeks later!). We go to that on Thursday.
I don't think anything can help him now. Even with radiation it is
visibly growing every day. It has closed off his ear, and almost shut
his eye.
My Mom finally got the nerve to ask just how long my Uncle has and was told
"This isn't a movie, I can't give you a timeline". She didn't ask
for a specific day, or month or even year! Just some idea. All
he said was "It could go to his brain and kill him." I think this
is way out of his field, he didn't know what to do or say.
Thanks to your website, we can be a little better prepared. I wouldn't
have expected the blood, I'm glad I know in advance.
Thanks again for the information, it is greatly appreciated.
Blessings to you and your family,
Kim W.
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Barbara
Received October 25, 2004
Hello,
I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your dad's story.
I don’t have specifics but I will share what I do know and feel free
to post it on your site.
My husband Jim ( now 29 yrs old) found a lump the size of a dime near
his jaw bone in (roughly) Feb 2003. He was soon to be 28 yrs old.
In 3 wks time it grew to the size of a golf ball. We saw the primary
who sent us to an E.N.T. ( DR S.) The E.N.T. did a needle biopsy which
lead to Jim's 1st surgery on March 27th 2003. The surgery left Jim with
a paralysis of the left side of his mouth. The nerve grew through the
tumor and had to be severed. It was suspected that Jim had the tumor
since he was small b/c when I met him (1997) he already had a crooked
smile. The biopsy resulted in a a mucoepidermoid carcinoma. I don’t
remember sizes or grades. I just know it was malignant and not common
in Jims age. The E.N.T recommended a second surgery. She was not
confident and neither were we that she could do a good job. She had
never gone in and done a second parotidectomy. She was worried about
the scar tissue build up. We were worried about Jim ending up
with a bells palsy look.
So we sought a surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania. (DR. W.)
After the usual tests and scans Jim under went a second surgery on May
19th 2003. His drains were out on May 23rd. After presenting Jim's case
to a medical convention it was decided that radiation therapy would
be best. Jim's 1st round of radiation was on July 9th and ended August
26th 2003. After radiation Jim had a horrible time with pain. It eventually
went away and was thought to be the nerves healing from all the trauma.
Since then Jim has had the usual needle biopsy's, PET , MRI and
CAT scan done.
All had been fine until his latest PET scan with CT fusion done on October
11th 2004. On Monday October 18th we got 2 calls. The first call was
regarding Jims scans. " The DR is concerned about a questionable
lesion found on your thyroid. We need you to have blood work and an
ultrasound done before your October 27th 2004 appt." Needless
to say we were stunned. The second call came from the primary's office
who was calling with MRI results b/c Jim was having back pain. They
said " You have 3 herniated discs, arthritis, and a mild case of spinal
stenosis all in your lower back." So Jim made the appointments
for the ultrasound and blood work. He is seeing some hot shot
Temple neurosurgeon for his back tomorrow ( October 26th 2004). Then
He see's DR.W on Wednesday about his thyroid results. Jim's fear and
mine is that his back, legs, knees, joint pain is all caused by the
cancer.
This whole ordeal has been a nightmare. After Jim's second surgery
we were told he cant have surgery in that area again and radiation is
one body part per life time. Also if it comes back it will travel down
and not up. And that he'd have to go through clinical trials next.
So if he has a cancer of his thyroid then hopefully they can remove
it from the other side or front. But he cannot have radiation again.
Now, I have been doing some reading and am wondering about radioactive
iodine injections. I need to find out if that can be done even though
he had regular radiation already. I wont know anything for 2 days. And
even then we probably wont know for sures b/c he'll probably need to
have a needle biopsy done. I will keep you updated.
Thanks again
Barbara in Philadelphia
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Lisa
Received November 8, 2004
Thank you for the web-site. It is very insightful. I have just been
diagnosed with a tumor on my parotid gland. I am scheduled to see a
surgeon this Wednesday to have it removed. My doctor told me there is
a 50 50 chance of it being cancer. I just want you to keep me in your
prayers.
Lisa
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Ryan, as told by his
mother, Yvette Received April 28, 2005
Thank you for this site, I've searched for information since my son had
his surgery.
My son age 16, on March 5th, 2004 had a malignant tumor, mucoepidermoid
carcinoma of the partoid gland removed from the left side of his face just
in front of the ear. We choose not to go thru radiation, we felt the side
effects would be far worse than the reoccurrence at that time. I have always
second guessed our decision at that time. He has regular check-ups and at
this time has no signs of reoccurrence, but like one story told, it's hard
for him to live life with the black cloud, every lump, bump or illness your
first thought is the cancer is back. Ryan's grandmother (my mother) died
15 years ago of breast cancer, I've read someplace briefly it could be related
to Ryan's cancer in someway, would like to find more information on if the
two are linked in anyway. This is all so greek to me and looking for any
help and the odds of it reoccurring.
Any feed back would be of great help and appreciation.
Ryan's mom-Yvette
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*I have not verified any of
this information. If you send me information, I reserve the right to edit
it for length or content, or to refuse to post it. If you object to how I
chose to edit, I will remove it at your request. I will also remove the information
at a future date if you or your family requests. I have no control over those
who may obtain the information from this page, nor of what they may do with the
information, so please use care when sending personal information. I'm not
trying to be harsh here, but I do think I owe it to you to set expectations up front
so we understand what I'm offering to do and what your options are.
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