Hi Aiynot

My hubby was diagnosed with SCC tonsils with lymph node involvement in Dec 2015. He had 5 cycles of Cistplatin and 30 fractions of VMAT radiotherapy over 6 weeks ( every week day with weekends off for good behaviour! ) He also had a neck dissection after his 12 week scan as his lymph nodes werent cleared. Hes been in remission and cancer free for 2 1/2 years.

He had a RIG prior to starting treatment and to be honest it was a life saver as by the end he couldnt nanage to swallow anything so I put all of his meds and nutrition down it. The proceedure was done whilst he was awake and he says wasnt too bad but the ‘wind’ pain afterwards was a bit problematic and painful but this dissipated after a couple of days. What I would say is get used to using it at the beginning- just put bits of water in it so you know what it feels like. Dont be afraid to use it as its there to help you get through. 

The Chemo process was fairly smooth but they do give you large doses of steroids which in my hubbys case made him feel ok but when you stop them three days later you tend to get a big crash in energy levels and he would sleep alot. Nausea was also troublesome and it was trial and error to find an anti sickness medication that worked . 

Hazels blog is great and definitely gives an accurate picture of the day to day problems of this arduous treatment but even though its difficult its worth it.

wishing you all the best and ask away any questions or querys you might have.

Emma 

xxx

Hi Aiynot

My husband is a couple of weeks behind you, same venue!  I've sent a 'friend request' 

Hope all going ok for you

Hi Aiynot,

Sorry you have joined our club but there is plenty of support and advice on here to help you through.

I wish you well on your journey and although not an easy one, there is light at the end of the tunnel and being update and positive does help, I believe. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help and feel free to ask away with any questions. There are a few of us at different stages and as we are all different, also have different side effects/recovery times etc.

I am week 12 post treatment for tonsil cancer and have also written a blog, warts and all, since I was diagnosed. Also started a thread on here and its under Living with cancer title "Radiotherapy for Throat Cancer". There are a few of us on there who help and support one another as well as pass on helpful tips so please join us and keep us updated as you progress.

radiotherapythroat.home.blog

kind regards

ian