Today was my Oncology Dental appointment. They are all nice people in this department of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The news I got, however, was not very nice.
Evidently, radiation is very hard on teeth, gums and bones. There is nothing they can put in the mouth to protect it because the radiation is too strong to be blocked by anything. The dentist (an attractive woman) took impressions of upper and lower teeth. They are going to make a device to hold my tongue down during radiation. She also measured how far I could open my mouth because the radiation can affect my range of opening and I can get to the point that I won’t be able to open enough to eat a sandwich or yawn. The will measure periodically to see if I am loosing any of that function.
Another side effect is the loss of the ability to taste food. Which might be a good thing so I can lose some more weight. The taste may come back in 3 or 4 months after completing radiation.
I will need to Fluoride my teeth once a week. For the first 3 weeks of radiation I will have to rinse my mouth out 10 times a day with a special mouth wash. After that for the rest of the time I will have to rinse it out 20 times a day. This does not guarantee that my teeth will survive the treatment without damage. She said she would tell me more at my next appointment because she didn’t want to overwhelm me with information. I told her I was already overwhelmed.
On the way home I listened to David Phelps sing “No More Night.” If you haven’t heard it you will definiatly want to listen to it even if you have heard it you can listen again. It is beautiful! I have added a link that you can get it on. I hope it will work. This song gave me comfort from all the bad news I had just heard. I know God has a purpose in all of this and I can hardly wait to find out what it is. Thank you, God, for your faithfulness and the comfort that you give me through your Word and through beautiful music.
http://www.yallwire.com/player/davidphelpsnomorenightlive.html?1=1&detect_bitrate=_700
This is enough information for today, I don’t want to overwhelm you. lol
Love to all,
Mary Margaret
The big "C" in me is Christ enabling me to deal with the little "c" which is the cancer!
Don’t forget to E-mail me . . .
Don’t forget to E-mail me . . .
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