On 5/13/2008
mtkjohn1 wrote:
I meet with my Dr. today and he said everything looks good to a thursday end!!!!!!!
wants to see me in three weeks from then
yes I will be cooking for the three weeks after I stop like other people have said that "Is What It Is"!!
but i was told that by the third week I should be feeling much better and noticeably better and feel a little better each day ?!?!
Also was told that the Fatigue would take A lot longer one month for every week of radiation and Chemo ( 8wks for me I guess Means 8 months) as well as things like Taste and Saliva, my Dr feels that by then I will have a good feel of what I will be getting Back and not.
Have people found these numbers to be more or less correct? I know what I have read so far it is important for me to understand that all people are differant and we all heal and recover at differant speeds
I am trying to finish Stron But I am not sure what the Hell that meens,
I think I will crawl,Fall or be dragged over the finish line here and I must tell all that I feel that is strong!!
But with that said my Dr said no sign of tumor and it really looks good will need all the tests and follow_ups every 3month for two years then every 6 months for two years then every year from ther on
john
Hey mtkjohn1....your comments sounds just like mine not too long ago. I had throat cancer affecting the vocal chords and luckily I only had to take radiation treatments, six weeks worth. My last treatment was over three months ago but I still don't have my voice back. I have learned how to manipulate that froggy sound that does come out...family understands me well..others look a little puzzled when I talk. I lost some weight during the treatment and came close to a feeding tube, but my dear wife kept shoving milk shakes with instant breakfast in them down me, and I swear I think that got me through the ordeal. My skin on both sides of my throat became pretty red and irritated but I just treaded water. My throat hurt so bad but I didn't want to complain. In my Oncologist's office, there were approximately 43 other patients undergoing treatment, all of them having chemo already and were going thru radiation. Nearly all of them looked as if they had really been thru it and I felt so fortunate to have only had to go thru radiation treatments. But out of respect for everyone of them, I just couldn't bring myself to complain. My last week of treatment was the worst, and the two weeks following were horrible. I had circled the date on the calendar when the last treatment was, and had convinced myself that everything was gonna be just cherry on that day, I guess some of that was being naive, but some of it was also just wishing. I had already told my employer that I anticipated going abck to work about a week after the treatment was over. Wrong! 5 days after the last treatment, I woke my wife up in the middle of the night choking because I couldn't breathe...scared the hell out of her. Back into the Oncologists office and they gave me a steroid pack, which did wonders for opening up my airway. By the time the steroids ran out, my throat swelling had gone down a bit and had healed a bit that made it tolerable.
I finally went back to work about 6 weeks ago, but I have not regained my energy levels yet...I feel I've still got about at least 50% more to return before I start feeling normal again.
Other than no voice, I have one side of my throat up to the ear that continues to be very sensitive and painful. When I yawn, the pain is really intense, brings tears to my eyes (literally). My ENT tells me it is a slow process and I need to look at the entire recovery as taking baby steps.....I believe it.
So I guess you are like I am...I just knew I was going to bounce right back to pre-treatment times, and it is a bit disheartening when that doesn't occur. We need to listen to what others have said here. I felt good after reading the email from the guy that said it took him a year to get his voice back. Man what a long time. But here I am beginning to think something was wrong or that I wasn't going to get my voice back at all, which still is a possibility, but I sure enjoyed reading his email that he did get his back, and now three months doesn't sound soooo long anymore.
Food tastes good again...throat a little touchy but nothing like it was...continue drinking lots and lots of water...feels good..and its good for you. If your like me, you won't having any problem getting sleep....now I can't get enough..I kind of hope that changes.
I guess I'll end this with this....I am 54 years old, been married to the same woman for 31 years, great sex life before all this and now its almost none at all. I certainly hope that comes back.
Good luck in your recovery and thanks to the other folks who have written things that have been helpful to me.