Earlier quoted context omitted.
I went 40 years without getting a flu shot because I was terrified of needles. And I mean I would look away if someone was getting a shot on tv. Absolutely terrified of needles. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I have had all my teeth removed, had a feeding tube (PEG) installed, chemo, liver biopsy, and more random horrible shit. I went from terrified of needles to getting more of them than I can…
Why did you have your teeth removed?
My teeth were not in the best shape going into this. But the risk was high that the radiation would kill my teeth and need to be removed anyway. The problem here is that I was going to be monumentally fucked from the radiation/chemo and they weren't sure my body could handle pulling teeth if they died.
And dead teeth just sitting in there could cause osteonecrosis of the jaw. Essentially a dead jaw. Then they would have to remove my jaw and that would be insane. So I opted to just have all my teeth pulled in one shot and get dentures later. And it wasn't some random dentist looking to profit saying I needed to have them pulled. Two ear, neck and throat doctors, a oral surgeon, two oncologists, and a radiologists all agreed that it was essential.