Hi Vatch

Glad to hear you are doing so well.

I know when my taste went the first time it was horrible everything tasted awful or like cardboard (which I hasten to add I have never knowingly eaten).  For me it lasted about ten days the first treatment and gradually lessened with each treatment so by the last one it was one day.  I know how hard it is to keep eating when it is like this but as you kow it is important to keep your strength up.  You must be doing something right if you are still managing to work.

I have been back full time a month now and it is hard but I do take it fairly easy at weekends.  One good thing about being in the office in this weather is the air con.  Would melt without it

Hi Gary

Glad to hear you are doing well and looking foward to the holiday.  Only problem is once that is over the going back to work seems to come rather quickly.  Am sure you will be fine as you have kept up with the cycling and running so well all during your treatment.

Simon

if you miss the E45 that much I'll send you some.

Onwards and upwards guys.

Gill

Easy Tiger! We could all end up with an E45 fetish!

Hi guzzle

I've pm'd you. Hopefully, I've done it correctly!

Debbie

Thanks for the offer, Gill.

For some reason I've always had a dislike of spreading creams and lotions on myself. The E45 stuff did keep the sores at bay though.

My wife spreads moisturising cream on by the bucket-load. When she comes to bed she's like a slippery fish (fortunately she doesn't look like one).

Simon xx

well hi there Simon, Gary, Nicola, Debs and Gill

how are you all doing? ..... positively i hope.

Well as for the E45 ... i apply about 3 times a day only in thin layers though ... and although my neck is red its not too sensitive or sore yet

So I am now 4 weeks in two week of treatment then two week in the wilderness by my self hopefully before i flat bed out on begin my slow assent.

I cant complain where i am at the moment. I was asked by my consultant this week if i was in pain and do you know i had to say "NO. I'm in a lot of discomfort but i would not call it paid yet.

I have managed to stabilise my weight now, but via using the peg. I am still able to eat and swallowing is not that much of a problem ... its the mouth ulcers that are really doing me in at the moment. But I am mouth washing with Diphlam and warm salt water constantly through the day ... hopefully they will go soon as they are getting on my nerves now.

I have started to lose my hair too round the back of my head ... it giving me a Black Adder Monk look, which my wife thinks is most amusing ... im not too bothered it will grow back. Also my beard hair is is beginning to thin out ... im happy with that as i hate shaving.

Sleeping a lot now too and thank god i have stopped travelling in to work now as driving i found too exhausting.

The food is still a real issue .. more mental than anything i think ... Im just bored of the same things and just in need of some variety ... but nothing works at the moment.... hopefully 4-8 weeks of this before i see any slight improvement

So I have read  a few comments you have all posted, you all seam to be doing well in the main ... a few teething issues i see fatigue courses, blood tests and thyroid checks,

Simon how is the thyroid, still checking it are they, wish you all the best there mate

SO thats me nothing of any significance to report as there are a lot worse of then me so i am not complaining ..... i will post on my blog today are more descriptive update if anyone is following ..gammaraygary.wordpress.com

stay well all and on the mend

Gary V

Gary, your sailing through it! Gary

yeh I must admit, i'm not experiencing a lot of the stuff some of you lot went through

I managed a small Sunday lunch today, could not really eat the chicken, even though I cut it up into small pieces, so it was mainly the veg in gravy ... got something down though ...it's just the ulcers really that are stopping me.

I must say though i am getting fed up of not tasting anything ... i feel so hungry but nothing feels the gap ... Weird feeling when i have loads of food around me

I don't think i have ever noticed how many delicious food tv ads there are on telly.. it all looks lovely, but i know its not at the moment ... funny how the food things gets you

A co Patient told my wife whilst waiting for his radio therapy, that he told his wife he dreamt about eating four meals in a day... are we going mad, we are trying to survive but we dream of food, well i am anyway.

well thats me

Never had a peg so just had to force myself to eat. No ulcers though luckily but taste went in last few weeks. It gets better. Can eat most things now but still stone lighter. Taste 80%? Cant do hot spices yet!

Well done, Vatch.

Sounds like you are doing well considering that you are two-thirds of the way through treatment. Guzzle is superhuman and so he was in better shape than both of us at this stage. Sounds like you are doing better than I did which is good. I too had redness and soreness on my neck but luckily the skin didn't break down - I think that the E45 was the saviour in that respect. Like you, my beard growth really slowed down. Even a year later I still have much less growth under my jaw-line which is good (not many positives arise from the side-effects but this is one I suppose).

I too had food fantasies. I used to daydream about a huge bag of fried cod and chips. I promised myself that I would have a bag as soon as I could eat via the mouth again. I still haven't gotten to that stage but I feel that I'm not far off. In fact you've got me thinking - I might give it a go this week and use my wife's cheese sauce to make it edible. I can now do fried potatoes with cheese sauce on so fingers crossed. Thinking back, I remember making a picture of a plate of fish and chips the screen saver on my home PC - I guess that made it 'food p0rn'!

The ulcers were a problem for me for a few weeks. Difflam was all that seemed to ease the pain so I just persevered with that. Nicola has similar issues and hers seem to linger even longer than mine did (and I had them for a good few weeks). It amazed me how something so small could cause so much pain. Mine have fortunately gone now (he said, firmly touching wood!).  Thanks for asking about my thyroid issue, it's still there I'm afraid. It might be that it's not quite as bad as it was so hopefully it's one of those issues that will resolve itself in time. I have my monthly oncology check-up on Thursday and I'm seeing the endocrinologist (hormone doctor) in a few weeks to see if things are improving.

Just booked a villa in Spain for a week in September - we normally go further afield but I decided to stay within Europe so that I am covered health-wise by the blue card. We normally holiday twice a year but we haven't been away since I was diagnosed and so it's a significant step for us.

I hope that the next few weeks are not too tough for you, mate. As I said, I think you're in better shape than I was and so that must bode well.

Good luck.

Simon.