skankyfish

I feel this. I had a (very small, early stage) carcinoma removed from my mouth last year. My instinct was to talk about it a fair bit but also to be very breezy about it, because the only treatment I needed was surgery. But it was still cancer, and I have permanent changes to the way I eat and talk, so it's very much part of my every day experience. It's a very different experience to someone with terminal disease, and to most people that seems to mean that it's over now. They've forgotten, because they're very overwhelmed with the shit show that the last year has been.

I don't have much of a point, other than to offer some empathy and a "me too".

You just made me well up a little in the office. Kindness to a stranger is a little thing, but so important. You're good people :)

There are a lot of other people involved in trad publishing though. Editors, copy editors, publicists, cover artists, layout designers, etc etc. Not saying that the author's share is necessarily fair, just that there are other factors to consider.

I actually just had a biopsy & CT scan for the same thing - a weird lump showed up inside my mouth. I don't know what it is yet, but it was a smooth, solid, non-painful lump on my hard palate. The biopsy was unpleasant but not really worse than ordinary dental work.

Chewing and swallowing have been a little challenging since - at first it was a bit sore (perfectly manageable with paracetamol/acetaminophen) but after the first 3-4 days it's just been the stitches that are getting tugged around. My biopsy was small (4mm punch) so larger wounds might be sore for longer I suppose.

Good luck, I hope this doesn't turn out to be another tumour/met to add to your collection.

Paravit-CF! It's vitamins A, D, E, & K IIRC - all of the fat-soluble vitamins :)