On June 7th, 2012, I had a surgery on my face to remove my tumor. The tumor was under my left parotid gland. Surgery required them to cut from the middle of my ear on down the back side of my jaw line and down to about an inch or so on my neck. This would allow them to peal my check skin forward to access that area. The surgeon had to carefully lift the branches of my facial nerve, being careful to not cut any of the nerves or I would have paralysis in my face. Awesome right?!?!
Well, one part of my face is paralyzed from here on out and I was told it would be. That is the nerve at the bottom of your ear lobe. It always has to be cut in order for them to pull the cheek back. Now you will be warned that it will just feel weird; and trust me, it does. My left side of my face by my ear feels like the dentist shot it full of Novocain. It is annoying to say the least.
If you are facing this surgery, start prepping yourself to sleep on the other side of your head. Laying on the one side to the pillow will just bother you with the Novocain ear always in the way.
The surgery itself is an out patient surgery and I think it’s considered kind of mild. Mine lasted approximately 6 hrs. It was the 2 weeks of recovery that just sucked!Grab some Ensure and prepare to have no energy for a few weeks. In my case, I was up the very next day after surgery and felt great. I was actually working on client projects and hanging out visiting with people. Remember this…. that is just a false sense of energy. Everything I did that day, came back to haunt me. My body paid a price. I was so wiped out the very next day that I could hardly move. If I had to do it all over again, I would have stayed in bed and rested,
NO matter how good I felt. -Travis
My prayers are with you Travis as you go through your treatment. Also, as you continue to heal with the loss of our beautiful Carrie. We love you and wish we could be with you at this time.
Love, Kris and Scott
First of all – Great job Danielle. Travis, our thoughts and prayers are with you. It was great staying with you and Marco in August. Your hospitality was wonderful! We had a great time! You have had a lot to deal with especially with the loss of Carrie and dealing with a rare form of cancer. Know we care and our thoughts are with you every day! You are such a neat, intelligent, creative, handsome, fun . . . (I could go on and on) nephew! We love you, Aunt Karen & Uncle Steve
Grandpa and I are praying for you in a very special way as you go through your treatment. We would do this for you if it were at all possible. Love you so much. We really appreciate Danielle’s blog. She is doing a great job. Stay strong and know that God loves you more than we do.
I am here always. My love is with you. You are truly amazing for all that you are going through and the strength you possess. You are an inspiration.
My 5 year old niece has been diagnosed with mammary analog salivary carcinoma . She becomes number 18! She is the only child with this diagnosis. I would be interested in learning where you were diagnosed, what hospitals are available for the surgery and treatments, and what the future holds for Aami. Any information will be appreciated.
Hello! I just found out today that I’m going to be a number. I think maybe 27, but I’m not sure. I have an appointment with a cancer specialist on Monday April 28, 2014. I hope you are all well and I wanted to let you know that your blog was helpful to comfort me and gave me courage. Thank you! Thank you! By the way, I am a 37 year old female with a tumor that was removed from a minor saliva gland in my upper lip / gum area.
We have an 11 year old daughter that was diagnosed with mas carsonoma ( mamory analogue secretory) just after valentines day. I would like to share her story. We are in the hospitol today 3-10-15 for her second surgery. I will share more later. My father in law found your blog last night and i would like to read more before sharing her story. Thanks.
I was just diagnosed 3 days ago, I would love to talk to others about the their experiences.
Susan
Hello!
My uni student daughter has just been diagnosed with masc of the left parotid gland. Her superficial parotidectomy is scheduled to take place in 10 days. I would love to connect with anyone who had undergone this procedure, so that I can better support my daughter. Thank you!
Please email me I would love to talk. I have a 7 year old who was diagnosed with MASC last year