Day to day pain unbearable after tongue cancer surgery

Don't really know if this is the place to talk about these things but I thought why not hey! 
 

im a 33 year old tongue cancer patient who has dealt with physical pain my whole life! 
 

im a chef who worked Michelin stared kitchens his whole life with crippling dermatitis on his hands! So pain just went hand in hand everyday! 
 

but all this new pain since cancer surgery the nerve damage the recurring tongue ulcers and ongoing surgery  aswell as all my other pains that go hand in hand with my job I can't take it anymore!

I have 3 young children so obviously giving up is not an option i put a brave face on for them but inside I'm falling apart pleasure pain ratio in my life is no where near what I think should be fair for any human being and can't really take any time away from my work as I have to many people dependent on me!

don't know why I'm typing this just some advice from someone who has been here or knows better ways of pain management 
 

thanks mr.shrubs 

  • Hello Mr.shrubs, 

    A warm welcome to our forum! This is definitely a good place to offload and talk about anything that is on your mind so don't hesitate to come and share your thoughts and feelings with us. As a chef, you work in a fast paced environment and I can imagine it must be so hard for you to have to endure such intense pain whilst still being super efficient in the kitchen. Poor you it must be so tough and you are so brave to do this because you have a family to look after. If you are really struggling though, is there any way you could take time off work while you are recovering from all this? It would be worth perhaps discussing with your employer what your contract entitles you to in terms of paid sick leave.

    On the pain management side of things, you shouldn't have to put up with so much pain and all those dreadful tongue ulcers. As mentioned in our 'after mouth cancer surgery' page, it's important to "tell your doctor as soon as you feel any pain" as this will help them find the right type and dose of painkiller for you. So do contact your doctor as you are still in a lot of pain and this needs to be looked into so that you can regain some quality of life. You could also talk to your doctor about how this pain has been having an impact on how you are feeling at work. 

    Hopefully things will gradually improve for you as you recover from your surgery and I hope that you will meet others on the forum who have had a similar experience post tongue cancer surgery. I hope you won't mind but I have edited your title slightly so that it includes the words 'tongue cancer' - this will allow our members who have been affected by tongue cancer to spot your thread more easily. 

    Do get in touch with your GP as soon as you can about this unbearable pain as you shouldn't have to go through this at the moment. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hello there,

    I hear you! Having cance treatment on top of your dematitis, with all the pain sounds awful. If I were you, I'd get in touch with your care team re the cancer pain and ask to see a dermatologist about your skin. There must be something for both sources of pain that can help. 

    Hope you get this sorted.

    Jane x