Hi there jem

how many sessions of radio therapy has she had

i myself and just over two years post treatment for throat cancer....I'm a survivor and doing well

i wrote a blog all the way through my treatment it may give you and inside track as to what's going on if she is going through the same process

gammaraygary.wordpress.com/.../

Hang in there, the treatment is severe and the after effects take some time to get over .... but you get there and there are many of us on here who have been through the same, but we all have our own journeys

so ask away, how can we help

vatch

Hi.... she is 10 sessions in and the side effects are awful.... I know we have to stay positive and think that she is already half way through... but if the side effects are bad now what are the gonna be like this time next week.... I feel helpless as I can't help or relieve these side effects.... 

Does everyone have these "why us" moments?.... maybe I lived in a blissful bubble which has definitely burst....

Jem x

Hi Vatch.... I'll catch up with you tomorrow... I have to be at work for 5am as well as taking mum for her treatments.... so bed time for me.. xx

Hi.... my mum is my best friend.... she is a spritely 74years old (could easily pass for 60).... she noticed a lump in her neck in late may '16 and although we weren't overly concerned, she went to the doctor (she'd had an operation for a shoulder complaint only the previous month, so thought the lump due to her being run down). He sent her for an appointment to see the ENT at hospital, who decided to take a biopsy.... 3days later we were back to hear those awful words "it's cancer"..... so after the shock, they said there was cancer in the lymph node and this was a secondary cancer... she had to have a CT/MRI to determine where the primary site was and it was in her left tonsil.... at 1st they said it would be easy to treat and she was told she'd have a course of radiotherapy and that would be it however in her next appointment they said it was small cell cancer (prone to spreading around the body) and she would also need a course of chemo..... fast forward 3weeks of appointments and scans and we arrived at the 1st chemo in July, she had 6, 3 weekly sessions which she absolutely sailed through....  a bit of nausea and that was it.... next came a scan and they said the lymph node site had gone and the tonsil had shrunk significantly.... they just needed to zap it to kill it completely..... so here we are 6 months yesterday from diagnosis and on session 11 of 20.... however she has started to suffer really badly with ulcerated throat and tongue and can hardly eat or talk.... we have a weekly treatment review tomorrow so hopefully they caneed get her some pain relief.... sorry to waffle on.... x

Jem

you waffle on as much as you like ... that's what this site is for

if your mum has not been fitted with a feeding tube ... sounds like she has not, she will soon find it difficult to swallow chunks of food....I guess by now here test has gone.

i found warn green tea helped me, water was too hard to get down

you might also ask your medical team for some fortified drinks to keep the weight on and food intake up

rub e45 cream into her neck to keep it moist.dont use lotion it will irritate use the think stuff

the radiation will also make your mum tired, towards the end I was only awake for about about 6 hours a day.

the treatment is quick and over quickly however it's takes time to get over it, so expect it to go downhill the week after treatment finishes ... it appears to happen to us all ... once we finish those daily session, we are just left alone, just be aware it might happen, but it's only temporary.

In the main, don't panic, it won't be easy, but just be there and fight for better treatment for your mum if she is not getting it. Don't be afraid to contact your medical team at any time....this is not the time to wAit and see what happens, deal with things straight away.

shout when you want

vatch