Recovery

Hello everyone,

 

Seems like the last messages on this type of cancer are from 2007. How are your recoveries going?

My husband has cancer in the left tonsil, stage two. He just finished 6 weeks of radiation and 3 rounds of chemo with cicplatin. Last dose of both was two days ago. Doctors said radiation is aimed only at the left side, so his salivary glands on the right will be saved. Right now his mouth is in bad shape. Radiation oncologist said "looks like a hand granade went off in there". He's very bothered by the thick saliva. He has a PEG tube that's used for all feeding and most hydration. He does sip on water throughout the day.

I like to know what to expect in the weeks and months to come. How soon after last treatment did you go back to work? Any advice would be great!

 I was very tired for the first 3 weeks post-TX, but I was also anemic, so taking iron helped alot. I began running again 6 weeks after completion of chemo/rads. Did a strenous mountain hike 7 weeks out. PEG tube removed 3 weeks after TX ended(the norm would be removal at 3-4 weeks out). My taste began to return at 2 weeks out, and seemed to get better in two week intervals. I finished treatment June 6, and was scheduled to return to work Sept. 1st. My father became terminally ill, so this delayed my return to work for another month. Don't be alarmed if your husband begins to have neck/nerve problems. This happened to me and usually doesn't appear until 3-4 months post TX. It is damage to the outer sheath of the spinal cord caused by radiation, and is not permanent. This scared me when it first happened because no one told me about this late-occuring side effect.

I am at 10 months out with no evidence of recurrance and a clean PET reported this week. I am having some other health issues, so I'm not feeling great right now, but supposedly it is not related to treatment.

Good luck with recovery!

I am sorry that you're not feeling well right now, but am very glad that your cancer treatment went well, and that you did not have too long a period for recovery. You gave me hope!

Pre-cancer, my husband was very active in sports, and loved to eat. He had no other health issues. Actually a month before disgnosis, he had his annual physical exam and got a clean bill of health! It's one thing to be alive, it's another to actually live. I don't think he would be happy to simply "exist" without going back to sports he loves. Thank you for the ray of hope...

I have one more question: did you experience any of the so called "chemo brain" after your treatment ended? His job is not repeticious; he has to think on his feet and make quick decisions or come up with one of a kind solutions and a lag in thought process would be very serious.

I am a waitress in a busy, fast-paced diner. We work quickly and add by hand under pressure----I thought I was going to be so stupid when I went back to work, but my mathmatical skills are more accurate than before. I think the radiation sharpened my math skills. LOL

At home, I do tend to forget things more than I did before. Oh, well---at least I haven't burned down the house yet!

I am so glad to have given you hope. When I first began my cancer journey, the first experience that I read about was one of hope and humor, and this was to color the rest of my experience. I didn't read anymore---I hung onto that one person's experience--no doom and gloom stories!! I would take it one day at a time, and not project about what the future would hold. As it was, I did better than the women whose story I had first read---I did not require narcotics during treatment and continued to eat throughout treatment. To celebrate, I went rock climbing(first time!) the day before my last chemo and radiation treatment. I decided that I needed to use my story to offer hope and inspiration to others going through this treatment. Mission accomplished. 

 

Hi, I have not posted in this message board in awhile. My father has stage 4 tonsil cancer with met. to the bone. He just had a PET scan on Friday and the results were great. They are going to start maintence (after 2 more cycles of carbo, taxol and erbitux) once he goes to maintence level they are looking at every other week of erbitux. He is so excited and hoping this means that he can return to work after a year gone. My father is young and strong. He complains of the chemo head feeling and I'm just as concerned as you regarding that feeling to be gone. I'll let you know. Good luck with recovery and keep healthy and strong.

 

On 4/3/2008 Zeebra wrote:

Hello everyone,

 

Seems like the last messages on this type of cancer are from 2007. How are your recoveries going?

My husband has cancer in the left tonsil, stage two. He just finished 6 weeks of radiation and 3 rounds of chemo with cicplatin. Last dose of both was two days ago. Doctors said radiation is aimed only at the left side, so his salivary glands on the right will be saved. Right now his mouth is in bad shape. Radiation oncologist said "looks like a hand granade went off in there". He's very bothered by the thick saliva. He has a PEG tube that's used for all feeding and most hydration. He does sip on water throughout the day.

I like to know what to expect in the weeks and months to come. How soon after last treatment did you go back to work? Any advice would be great!

I hope your husband is feeling better.  I was treated with radiation for right tonsil cancer 2.5 years ago.  The healing is rough.  I think I felt the worst for 2 months after my treatment stopped.  Gradually, the mouth sores healed, but the sensitivity remained for quite a while.  Over the months, my taste returned, my dry mouth is almost completely gone.  My throat is dry sometimes, so I still sip water when I eat something dry.

 

Oral hygiene is extremely important.  I floss after every meal and use prescription fluoride toothpaste.  I used fluoride plates for 1.5 years after treatment.  It is also important to gargle and get all food debris up from the back of the mouth and throat after eating.  If eat sweets, rinse immediately.

The remaining problem I have is continuing pain in the throat which is worse and times than others.   Assuming this is secondary to the radiation. 

 

The healing is a long process.  It is important to not lose weight if possible. A recent research study showed that there was a higher recurrence rate in persons who lost a lot of weight.  Also important to keep any pain well controlled, as pain can delay healing and has cause a person to become depressed.

The thick saliva will go away after awhile.

 I was off work 5 months.

 

Good luck to you.