This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Quality of Life  • Oncology  • Otolaryngology/ Head & Neck Surgery  • Neoplasms of Head & Neck  • End-of-life Care/ Palliative Medicine  • Alert me on articles by topic

"I Would Like a Quick Return to a Normal Lifestyle"

Amy J. Markowitz, JD; Michael W. Rabow, MD

JAMA. 2008;299(22):2679.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

On April 16, 2008, Goldstein et al¹ presented the case of Mr K, a 57-year-old financial analyst with a long history of precancerous and cancerous oral lesions. In 1997, a tongue lesion demonstrated dysplasia. It was treated with topical steroids and then by both laser and surgical excision. The lesion recurred in 1999 and a biopsy revealed superficially invasive well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. He underwent wide resection with all margins clear of carcinoma but with residual dysplasia at the edges. In April 2006, worsening tongue pain occasioned another biopsy, which showed recurrence of the squamous cell carcinoma. He was referred to Dr U, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, who performed a right partial glossectomy and ipsilateral neck dissection. Treatment required multiple resections, followed by radiation therapy. Several months after treatment, the significant pain from burns around the chin and neck, ulcers on . . . [Full Text of this Article]