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My cancer is long gone. Several CT scans and an MRI show no traces of cancer from my cheek to my sternum. As far as I'm concerned, the surgical team that operated on me in October of last year successfully removed all the cancer.



Who knew? Apparently, I'm the only one who did know because the docs still ask about doing radiation in my neck as a way to raise the survival rate from the 60s to the 90+ percentile. My stance is, not only no but "Hell, no!" The reason being my quality of life. The first thing they would do is pull all my teeth to prevent complications from the radiation. Somehow, this is supposed to be an improvement over my present quality of life. I realize my docs want me on a soft diet and ibuprofen to treat my mis-aligned jaw (ignoring the fact that it didn't work when we tried it before) but being on a permanent soft diet has no appeal for me. At all.

These days, my jaw is the focus of my thoughts and actions, as I seek out the best treatment for it. Being in excruciating pain almost every time I eat is, understatedly, no fun. The frustrating thing about it is that the MDs at Parkland — and, presumably, nationwide — aren't trained to deal with (and barely to admit) an injury that they themselves caused during the surgery.

I endured a 3-hour-long MRI only to be told that I have an "anterior translation of the right condylar head" of my right jaw. In English, the little, finger-sized protrusion at the top of my jawbone that mates with the TMJ in my skull between my ear and my cheekbone is moved forward from its normal position.

It took me 3 hours to find out what I already knew to be a fact. If I'd known all the proper TLAs (three-letter acronyms), I could have written the MRI report myself and saved myself and Parkland time and money. In other words, they didn't tell me anything new. And they seemed so proud that they'd discovered it.

So, now, I am looking for someone who works specifically — perhaps only — with TMJ Disorder. A good friend in Denver, whom I trust implicitly, recommended some people. Contacting them, I asked them to get back with me with a local referral. Not a single one bothered to call me back. Or returned my second calls. So, I search for treatment on my own.

In the meantime, I'm still on a soft diet (mostly).

Next time, I want to offer up a summary of the process I've been through. Why? Well, it seems that a significant percentage of the people who visit this website are looking for answers. Now, I certainly don't have THE answers. But I do have my own take on the process I've been through since my diagnosis. If you're one of those who want to know what to expect as you begin your own journey, you'll want to read this next blog.

Till next time, God Bless you and keep you.