My dad - 2 weeks post radiotherapy throat cancer

Hello everyone, I'm looking for a bit of reassurance / advice for my poor dad. He is now 2 weeks post his radiotherapy treatment for throat cancer and he is really struggling. He has a syringe driver and an NG tube as he cannot swallow anything. Lucky if he manages a sip of water. He is still feeling so sick and vomiting too. He uses his nebuliser too to try help with secretions but not that great.

Does anyone have any advice? Or anyone's personal experiences of how long this will go on? Hate him being in such a horrible place and can't help him.

Thank you in advance. 
 

Kirsty x

  • Hello Kirsty

    I'm sorry to hear that your Dad is struggling so much at the moment. We have quite a number of members here on the forum who have been through treatment for throat/tonsil cancer and I know from reading their posts just how harsh the side effects of treatment can be. It's not uncommon for people to continue to struggle for quite a few weeks after finishing treatment. 

    I wanted to suggest you have a look and maybe post on this active thread where hopefully you'll be able to connect with others who understand what your Dad is dealing with at the moment. You'll also likely find on the thread links for personal blogs that both [@Anchor1707]‍ and [@RadioactiveRaz]‍ have written about their journey through treatment and I know many other members have said how helpful they have found those accounts to be. 

    Do encourage your Dad to get in touch with his specialist nurse or Consultant. They should be able to help to get the nausea and vomiting under control and hopefully this will help your Dad to start to feel a little better. 

    I know how hard it is to watch a loved one struggle. If you'd like to talk things through with one of our team of nurses you're welcome to call them on 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm. 

    Hopefully, over the coming weeks, things will settle for your Dad and you'll start to see slow steps in improvement for him. In the meantime keep in touch and do reach out to his clinical team for additional support if needed. 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator 

  • Hi Jenn,

    Thank you so much for responding to my message. It is very hard when you can't do anything to help the nurses etc have been wonderful and I can't thank them enough for what they have done so far - but I guess it's just the harsh reality of the radiotherapy aftermath I'll certainly have a look at the threads you mention. Again, thank you so much for replying - I really appreciate it.  
     

    Kirsty x

  • Hi sorry I've not replied earlier was travelling back from Spain. I'm now 3 years post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes. The experience your dads going through is par fir the course I'm afraid to say. Thus period is the worst part for the next few week s yoyr dads treatment will continue to work. All you can do is kerp on top of pain medication and make sure he's drinking enough to flush the radiotherapy out. He needs at least 2 litres of water via tube plus at least 2000 calories a day to help him heal I have a blog www.radioactiveraz. wordpress.com. It may help you. 
    many questions just ask Hazel x week 6 is sometimes a turning point then again week 12 xx