First off, I am sorry if this post is a little long. My dad was diagnosed with tonsillary cancer in October of 2015 at 54 years old and I am only 29. Although several months prior we started noticing that a very large mass was growing on the right side of his throat just under the jaw line. At first it was about the size of a walnut. He figured that maybe it was a pulled muscle and if you knew my dad, he is not the doctor type. So he stuck it out and did not seek treatment. By the time October came around the mass had grown to the size of a grapefruit and was starting to cut off his airway. It was also moving up the back and side of his neck and under his right ear. He finally decided to seek help. So it was off to the hospital. He was diagnosed first with tonsillary carcinoma, then squamous cell carcinoma of the throat. Thankfully it never spread to any of the lymph nodes. He was a smoker for years prior but he was delivered from smoking at least fifteen years ago. They were not able to pin point the cause as d/t smoking. They took several scans and a biopsy that confirmed it was cancerous. He also became a type II diabetic and had to poke his finger and have insulin given several times a day. He had seven weeks of Radiation at five times a week and chemo every other week until the 35 radiations were fulfilled. It was extremely hard to watch him go through such a thing. It was the hardest thing I believe he has ever went through and it was heart wrenching painful to have to see him go through it. Me and the family took turns since It was a two hour drive back and fourth everyday to his radiations and chemo. We almost lost him after the second chemo when he threw up for five days straight and almost went into heart failure. He had to have an NG tube b/c he could not stand the thought of a PEG tube. He couldn't swallow because his saliva Was so thick and also because his swallowing muscles did not work anymore. He also had to have a port put in for his chemo treatments and lots of blood work. He was put on several medications to help with nausea and nerve pain. He did get sores in his mouth d/t the radiation and he lost his taste, nothing was appetizing anymore. In about two months he lost about 60 lbs and became very ill. He even got to the point where he needed help dressing, bathing and even walking. His saliva also became very thick to the point where he could not swallow it and was clearing his mouth out about every ten minutes for a couple of months straight. The doctors and care was phenomenal. They were so kind and caring. I was thankful for such good care. Routine became crucial, it was his life line and without it he was lost. It has now been about six months post treatment and the CT scan of his head came back that there was no more cancer in his head and throat. They want to do a PET scan but my dad is not wanting to get it done yet. He has good days and bad days. He was actually feeling better about three months after treatment. He had the NG tube removed and he started swallowing and eating better. But now he has not been feeling so well. He is very nauseous, throwing up again, hold his head, complains of head aches dizziness, weakness and tenderness of his face on the right side. He keeps losing weight. He is now down about 80 lbs total since October 2015. Nothing sounds appetizing and for the most part it's hard for him to keep food down. His energy is so low. Most mornings he can make it about ten feet to the sofa and he will stay there for hours. He can't stand for long periods of time and his sugars are ranging around 70 and sometimes a little lower. I feel so bad he doesn't want to go into the doctors and he keeps trying to tough it out. I just keep praying that things will start to look up. But it's hard to watch him suffer like this. If anyone else is going through this I can truthfully say that I understand from a daughters point of view.
