This is a continuation of the previous entry. If you haven't read that one, you might want to before continuing with this entry. I think I pretty much covered what was found during the surgery, so this post will try to go into what all that means.
Recovery from the surgery is a mystery. Today was the first day I didn't have anything leaking from the incision. That's 53 days or about 7 and a half weeks since the surgery. My surgeon is surprised that my voice is still nothing but a hoarse whisper. He thought it should have improved by now.
The only thing any of the doctors seem to know is that they're not going any further until I'm healed better. I have an appointment with the surgeon May 14 to check the healing again. There may or may not be corrective surgery to aid healing at that time.
The surgery done for my problem hasn't really changed in over 100 years. Step 1 of curing my problem relies on a medical procedure straight out of 1903.
It's time to take another look at risk factors. The original diagnosis was a cancer that had spread from another location. That other location had to be a source of squamous cells. The most likely origin location for a smoker is somewhere along the passage the smoke takes: Nose, sinuses, throat, tonsils, larynx, lungs - that stuff. In those situations, it's almost guaranteed to be related to smoking.
I came out 100% negative in all those areas. That pretty much eliminates smoking as a cause of what I've got. I'm still at risk from smoking. The fact that I've had squamous cell carcinoma increases the possibility I will get it again. I need to avoid risk factors in the future.
I do have a small skin cancer on my left ear. It's about the size of the head of a pin. It has not been biopsied, but a visual examination indicates it's probably basal cell, not squamous cell. I've pointed it out to the doctors and they have ignored it.
The lack of any cancerous squamous cells anywhere in my lymph system indicates my lymph system didn't transport those cancerous squamous cells from another location. The absence of any cancer in any area where squamous cells exist indicates there is no source for the cancerous cells found in my neck.
If the source of those cancerous squamous cells in my neck isn't from cancerous cells from another location, how did I get cancer in my neck in cells that don't exist in my neck? Forget smoking as a cause. I never smoked through my neck. Smoking can't be totally eliminated. It's possible the carcinogens in cigarette smoke soaked through my throat and caused mutations in the - wait this isn't working. There are no cells of the proper type even with the osmosis theory. It's time to look at other risk factors.
My situation is identified in 6%-7% of squamous cell neck cancers. All the medical literature (everything the docs learn in med school) says it has to come from another source location. When that location can't be found, they've invented a category of cancer that doesn't actually exist, but spreads to other locations. Uh, yeah, that's what they're telling me I've got. It's a cancer that doesn't really exist, but still manages to reproduce and spread itself.
This "voodoo" cancer, that doesn't really exist, but has spread and is reproducing, really freaks the docs out. It causes them to resort to extremely aggressive tactics to kill the thing that they can't find. The medical technology is straight out of '03 - that's 1903 - not 2003. The medical reaction is straight out of 1950's horror movies. They don't know what it is, so they grab everything they've got and attack.
I've got another theory. It explains how cells that can't exist in a location are found there and become malignant. It's based on virus activity. Viruses can "borrow" genetic information from their surroundings. They can move around, maintain that genetic information, and produce cell types associated with their historic locations.
Moving up on the list (it's mentioned often in the medical literature) is human papilloma virus. Yes, the virus that's well-known for causing several female cancers.
I'm starting to think that a virus that normally resides in an area that is loaded up with squamous cells can pick up genetic material from those cells. If that virus can then find it's way to another part of the body or to another person, it can take the genetic material from its original location with it. That can lead to genetic material for cells to exist in areas where they don't normally exist. If the virus that transported the genetic information is known for causing cancer, it could cause unusual cancers in unusual locations.
Human papilloma virus is identified as a risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma. I think my explanation, which has no medical backing, makes more sense than the "official" medical explanation, which is that I have an unknown cancer that doesn't really exist, but has spread into my neck.
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I think translated into English, what they're saying is that they're stumped. So I suppose in that instance, aggressive is the way to go. It's like shooting in the dark.
But if they haven't actually found anything else, this is a good thing, as I think a cancer lurking-in-wait would have been asserting itself by now.
It's also entirely possible that what they think is impossible has been discovered and documented, but is obscure enough to have escaped their attention.
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