Radiation Following Neck Dissection

I had a selective neck dissection on 8/13. Pathology revealed only 2 positive lymph nodes, but I must have radiation starting  about 9/24. I am a high school teacher and need to know how long I can still teach once radiation of the neck begins. I have read so much about loss of salivary glands, sore throat, mouth sores, burned skin, etc.... The supervisors need an idea of when i will start feeling too awful to teach so they can prepare for a lone term substitute...The radiation will be 6 to 8 weeks. How soon after the treatment ends will I be able to return to work ??? HELP please with any info. Thank-you

You should really discuss this with your doctors.  Everyone takes the treatment differently.

In my case, side effects started piling up somewhere between week 2 and 3.  I would say I was feeling reasonably well about 2-3 weeks after treatment ended (6-1/2 weeks IMRT for tonsil cancer, weekly cisplatin and erbitux, daily ethyol).

Best wishes,

Chris

 

On 9/4/2007 MomJennie wrote:

I had a selective neck dissection on 8/13. Pathology revealed only 2 positive lymph nodes, but I must have radiation starting  about 9/24. I am a high school teacher and need to know how long I can still teach once radiation of the neck begins. I have read so much about loss of salivary glands, sore throat, mouth sores, burned skin, etc.... The supervisors need an idea of when i will start feeling too awful to teach so they can prepare for a lone term substitute...The radiation will be 6 to 8 weeks. How soon after the treatment ends will I be able to return to work ??? HELP please with any info. Thank-you

 

going throough the same as you my friend who went throug30 treatments went to work every day towards the end of treatment she was very tired and had to lay down at work her age 63 I will keep you informed as i go through this treatment like you problems with a very sore throat starting about day 15  only thing I will miss is spicey  wish you luck hank

Everyone is different, so don't let other horror stories unduly influence you.  However, as is true with so many things -- hope for the best and plan for the worst.

I am 51, was diagnosed at the end of March with SSC of the tongue base.  I had a bilateral neck dissection on April 14, with 2 positive nodes on the right, none on the left.  Fortunately, no extracapsular spread.

I started a regimen of 39 IMRT treatments, daily Amifostine IV and weekly Cisplatin on May 14, finished on July 11.   I drove myself to every treatment, and did not miss a day of work.  Some days I felt pretty crummy, and I went to bed at 7:00 PM a fair amount.  I was lucky in that I did not have signifcant pain, and ate solid food throughout, although after week 3, it was mostly soup, mashed potatoes, etc.  Still lost 28 pounds, but I could stand to lose another 10, if the truth be told.

By all means have a plan ready for substitute teachers, but approach the treatment with a positive attitude and do everything the doctors tell you --- to the letter!!  I think this is one of the big reasons I had a relatively uneventful treatment course.  It is still awful, but it is very doable.  I am clincially cancer free right now (knocking on wood), and just have the neck tightness and some muscle spasms to deal with, due to the nerves coming back from the ND surgery and the fibrosis after the radiation. 

Good luck!!

 

I am going through the same treatment now (35 IMRT plus weekly chemo).  I lost my voice during the third week of treatment.  That would be the primary limitation to teaching.  In my case, I teach at a university, and I'm just working from home as I see fit.  I felt I needed to channel all my energies to beating the cancer, and work suddenly became a lower priority.  So far, it's been tough, but bearable.  Hopefully it will stay bearable.  

Pigdoc 

Yes, everyone is different-but I also lost my voice about 3 wks in. And I was tired enough to sleep about 18 hrs a day. I worked up until about that 3 wk mark and then not again until about 3 wks after treatments done and then on a  PT basis for awhile.  So many side effects and the tiredness!!! I envy anyone who didn't have that-altho sleeping lots made the time go faster and it was a no-pain time! I am an ins agent-lots of people contact and talking. My voice is still raspy and throat gets sore when I have a full day of talking. My last day of rad was 4/24-and I really did very well thruout and my recovery has been phenominal, according to my Dr's. I had 1) surgery to remove a maligant node (and was therefore diagnosed) 2) cisplatin and 35 rads, and then 3) modified neck dissection to make sure the rest of the nodes were clean.(Aug 4th) I have an unknown primary, SCC. Doing great now and no known malignancies in the head & neck. Best of luck!!!!!!!!!!! Gayle

3 to 6 months

 

On 9/7/2007 gayleann wrote:

Yes, everyone is different-but I also lost my voice about 3 wks in. And I was tired enough to sleep about 18 hrs a day. I worked up until about that 3 wk mark and then not again until about 3 wks after treatments done and then on a  PT basis for awhile.  So many side effects and the tiredness!!! I envy anyone who didn't have that-altho sleeping lots made the time go faster and it was a no-pain time! I am an ins agent-lots of people contact and talking. My voice is still raspy and throat gets sore when I have a full day of talking. My last day of rad was 4/24-and I really did very well thruout and my recovery has been phenominal, according to my Dr's. I had 1) surgery to remove a maligant node (and was therefore diagnosed) 2) cisplatin and 35 rads, and then 3) modified neck dissection to make sure the rest of the nodes were clean.(Aug 4th) I have an unknown primary, SCC. Doing great now and no known malignancies in the head & neck. Best of luck!!!!!!!!!!! Gayle

This was very helpful inf...thank-you. I start radiation on 9/27. Needless to say I am nervous about the daily shot of ethoyl, and the severe sore throat to occur about day 15 ? Would you say it makes sense then to tell my supervisor I will need a substitute teacher for about 5 or 6 weeks ? I SO hate having someone else in charge of my students, but understand that my health is priority !  

 

I worked all through my radiation.  33 treatments for salivary cancer.  Didn't lose my voice until 7 days after the last treatment.  A little hoarse for a couple of days 2 days after the last treatment. 

  I had more trouble the first few weeks after it was all over.  No mouth sores, some extrenal burn on lower neck the last week of tx.  Overall, it wasn't bad.  I did get real tired a few days towards the end and would leave early and take a nap. 

Good luck