Hi Nicola,

I'm sorry to read about your grandad. It must be a very emotional time for you all.

Can't believe it's been a year since your diagnosis and your starting this thread.

I'm glad your thread has continued to run - a great support to everyone on it - even for those of us whose cancer is physically poles apart from the neck and tongue

It must give you heart to read the early posts and see just how far you've come!

Your weight gain sounds impressive! As does your increased exercise regime. You put me to shame as I don't follow an official exercise plan - I do try to go out on dog walks though, and have increased the housework and gardening! How much I get done only gives me an indication of how less tired I am, but doesn't really get my heart rate up! Could do better!

I'm beginning to put my pre-op weight back on now! Almost reached 48 kg!

When the doc explained that I wouldn't gain weight until my body was no longer taking what it needed to regenerate my liver, I relaxed and stayed off the scales! I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I'm guessing that my weight gain means my liver is back up to speed!

Simon's breakfast of porridge with sultanas, bananas and cashews sounds delicious! I love nuts and fruit, but can no longer eat them as they may cause a stoma blockage! I suppose I could chew and chew (and chew) the nuts, but I now tend to cut out the middle man and just have peanut butter!

Talking food, "Hi Irene" - I share your concerns about cholesterol levels! Funny how we're all advised to 'up the fat content' in our diets, but for those of us with heart disease in the family, it goes against the grain! It's all about balance and moderation I suppose! (And I am enjoying the 'prescribed' bag of crisps each day!   )  Irene, I've now had my 'oscopy' (flexible sigmoid) and thankfully, it showed no recurrence of anything nasty! Huge sigh of relief!

Hope you're ok? Reading back through your posts, I see you had a trip to Northumberland. Such a beautiful part of the country! Your 'grumpy old man/woman post made me laugh!! Glad you got your fish and chips in the end! (My favourite fish and chips were from Seahouses!)

Nicola, Keep us posted about your return to work. I'm sure your employer will be very supportive about your phased routine. Will you have a consultation with your employer and Occupational Health and HR? I don't need to tell you to take it slowly - remember, you want a 'phased' return, not a 'Fazed return!

As you know, I managed the final week of term (the head teacher 'protected me' from the teaching side and I was able to bumble along in my office role for the week!)

I made the decision to reduce my working hours and in September, I'll be working a four day week instead of full time. We (partner and I) weighed up the financial loss against the health gains and it was a no brainer! The head has even allowed me to be flexible about which day I take off (Mon or Fri) so I can now look forward to 'three day' weekends! (Maybe I'll do more exercise on my day off, Nicola. Or eat more cake and crisps, Irene   )

Well, I'll sign off now, but I send you all a big hug!

Take care everyone, Jo xx

My God Nicola your fitness routine sounds exhausting

Im knackered after just walking my dogs for 40 minutes at the mo

I tried reflexology the other day whilst at the hospital ... it was free and part of an alternative therapy ... nice but too light for me i needed something a bit more deep tissue related, which they dont offer...so think i will weight a bit then treat myself to a proper massage

so hows everything going with you now ... slowly getting better i hope ... Guzzle appears to be sunning himself at the mo ... although under the influence of factor 50 and a large hat ... and Simon is away soon too ..... lucky beggars

hope all is well though

Nicola / Jo,

Forgot to mention in my post of earlier today, and Jo, you've reminded me......

During my monthly visit to the oncologist for my check up last week he asked how my weight was going. I told him that I was still around 2 stone lighter than I was pre-treatment and that the weight wasn't going back on. He then suggested that I try deep-fried Mars Bars. At first I thought he was joking but it soon became clear that he was being serious - I kid you not! I was being advised to bulk up on deep-fried Mars Bars by a medical practitioner. Needless to say I haven't taken the advice (we don't have a deep fat fryer in any case).

Had to laugh.

Simon XX 

Wow Simon that is a bit excessive

Deep fried mars bar ... i know that do a lot of that up north, but have not tasted anything in 6 weeks now ... i cant say thats one of the things on my bucket list of food

If you have a blender try blending a mars bar into some full fat milk with ice ... its a sort o Milkshake ... there is a van that come round here sometimes and he put any chocolate bar you want into a milkshake ... in fact its any sort of confectionery

I've now lost a stone and a half ... but my wife did make me put on a stone before i started treatment ... glad i have lost that though, so i suppose i have only lost half a stone in reality, but now my food and nutrient intake is down i know I am losing a couple of pounds a day ... this will be ok for the next couple of days , then i will try and pick it up .... The family had a take away Chinese last night, i managed to have cooked vegetables soup and some chow mien and then i just went round smelling everyone elses plate .... God it smelt so flipping good .... rthat was my food *** for the weekend

Sorry I am talking about food again

Deep fried mars bar (or pizza) is a Scottish delicacy. It is minging. Haggis Samosas are lush mind. Got sketchy wi fi but just caught Liverpool  game in a bar. Seriously I reckon 50 % of what I lost was muscle. I doubt the wisdom of eating utter rubbish. Novel quack. He may prescribe single malt to help you sleep! Am indeed sunning self. Just not neck!

Lisa got week in a work centre to get myself as fit as possible. Designed a fitness program and will pick from menu of therapy. Alas no creative writing.

Any of you get to Liverpool and I will make you a pan of nutitious scouse. Managed 3.5 miles at 36 degrees....

Hello Zoe and welcome to this thread.  So sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but just a quick message to hopefully give you a little reassurance and encouragement.  In 3 days time it will be exactly a year since I discovered the painless lump in my neck which turned out to be a secondary tumour from a primary cancer in my left tonsil/base of tongue.  I had absolutely no idea there was anything amiss in my throat, the lump was the first sign.  I well remember what a worrying time it was during biopsies, scans and awaiting the dreaded results.  However I'm pleased to report that today I had my 7th monthly checkup since my treatment (6 weeks of daily chemo-radiotherapy) ended and all is well.  If you read back through this thread you'll probably see that I've done a lot of moaning about the fact that I'm not enjoying food much, but oh what a long way I've come since January. I managed to get back to work part-time in April and full-time (6.5 hours a day for me) by May.  So before you know it, you will also have emerged from the other end of the tunnel and look back and see the amazing progress you've made.   Everyone is different though, and it's important to remember that we won't all have exactly the same recovery experiences. Some are still experiencing chronic fatigue (which has not been so much of a problem for me), some are able to eat better than others and recovery of taste/appetite seems to happen in varying degrees.   You'll see that lots of us have shared the experience of this pretty gruelling treatment and know how tough it can be, but the time will pass quicker than you think and it will all have been well worth it.  I wish you all the best and will be following your progress. This forum has been a Godsend to many of us and I hope you will find it helpful too - ask questions, voice your fears, vent your rage, shed some tears, and even have a few laughs along the way about what may well be a completely different relationship with food - I could rabbit on about that forever but I'm not going there tonight!!!  Seriously though, keep in touch and hopefully gain some strength (and helpful tips) from others who have been there. To all my other friends, sorry I've not been in touch for a bit, all going well, will write more soon.  Love, Irene x

Hi all,

Thanks for all your relies.

Guzzle, I didn't realise you had been away on holiday, where did you go? Did you manage to find some good insurance? How is the week of the rosy going? re you still planning to return to work next weeks.

Simon, although it's probably frustrating to feel washed out during the afternoons, I was glad to hear that you feel similar to me, it's reassuring. I'm returning to work on a phased return in six weeks from now and I'm kind of looking forward to it but also very nervous. I know I will be very tired and that will probably feel like a backward step but I suppose I have to accept that's the way it is for me now. A few months ago I would be washed out for a couple of days if I went to the park with my daughter but now I just need an hour on the sofa with a cup of tea and I feel a little recharged. I think I'll give the fried mars bars a miss though! They don't sound appealing at all but as we were speaking about chips recently, I have found McCain Smiley Faces to be edible for me. I buy them for my daughter who is 3 and thought I would try one and they went down ok! They are oven cooked potato circles (with little faces on them!) and are a little crispy but not as dry as chips. I've also tried coconut water and coconut juice. It makes a change to sipping plain water, the Nutritionist suggested it. She also suggested adding Thyme or Parsley to mashed potato and that tasted wonderful! I'm still to try the box of noodles thou, I must buy some for myself.

Jo, lovely to hear from you and I encourage your four day week at work. I think that's a great balance. What will you do with your extra day off? I also agree with your thinking that your liver must be repairing itself well if you are managing to gain weight again, well done! Don't be too proud of my work outs, I'm only doing it as I was referred by my speech therapist, however I do enjoy it and think I may continue once the course ends. A little gentle exercise can boost energy levels apparently and it definitely works for me. I got filmed last week, I was asked to take part in a video that could be shown to other patients or at "Moving on" days. I was asked a series of questions about my cancer and fatigue and how the course was helping, so you never know, you might see my mug on some video at some point haha! I'm now doing 15 and a half minutes per week when I started out on 12 and a half about 8 weeks ago. I hope the new term isn't too hectic for you and try not to over do it. You don't want to lose that weight you've been able to gain  

Irene, I hope your dad is getting well again, it's so difficult to see older relatives in a helpless situation, I hope he has a speedy recovery.

I was also worrying about the fat content I've been told to eat this year, I know it was important for me to gain weight but I'm worried my teeth may rot and I do have a bit of a bloated tummy! Something I've never had before, I've always been stick thin. I thought at first it was swelling from the peg, but now I think it's all the calories I've been told to eat! I hope it will disappear as I become more active again. This fatigue is a bit of a blighter, it's so frustrating, especially with an active 3 year old, but I do have one day each week when she is at nursery and I have no appointments to attend so I can rest up. I look forward to those days! I too was a cadburys girl, but can't manage it now, I find Galaxy chocolate is easier or Kit Kats, especially dunked into a cup of hot tea! Cadburys chocolate seems to burn my throat now. Can you manage samosa? Too painful for me!

Vatch, good to hear from you. I couldn't access your blog from the link that Simon gave but I hope you're gradually feeling better. I'm impressed that you were able to try some food. Things will be on the up for you now I'm sure, six months ago I would never of imagined myself feeling as well as I do today. I hope your recovery is speedy.

Speak soon everyone,

Nicola xx

Hey Nic, went to Malta. Lovely for kids. Am on last day of pamper week. Enjoyed Reiki and hot stones. Been in gym each day. Took a bike into Harrogate to Bettys tea room for cream tea! Heading home tomorrow. Google the Liverpool zip wire! Then work Mon.....

Hi Nicola,

Really good to hear from you. Sounds like you're moving in the right direction but, like me, you're finding the progress slow. I have to say that I do feel better and more energised than I was a month or two ago - I try to think over that sort of timescale because I don't really notice any difference day on day or even week by week. Things are definitely moving in the right direction though so I'm confident that they will do for you too.

Those Batchelors' Deli Box Noodles and Pastas are sold by both Tesco and Waitrose and they're usually on the shelf next to Pot Noodles. The good thing is that the Deli Boxes have a far lower sugar content than Pot Noodles and so are less harmful to teeth. They also have a far lower pepper content and so are less likely to aggravate the throat or mouth.

I'm now into porridge in a big way. I microwave a large bowl with cashew nuts, sultanas (only a few of these because they can make the mouth sore), and blueberries, and whilst it's cooling down I slice up a banana and put that on the top. I have that every morning for breakfast and it really sets me up for the day. It might be good for you because the nuts have a good few calories in them.

I'll look out for those chip things that you mentioned - they'll be good with my wife's cheese and onion sauce.

We're off to Spain for a week in 7 days time. We've booked a villa so I can prepare my own scrambled  egg and porridge etc. It'll be good to have a break, our first since I was diagnosed. We decided to stay in Europe in order that I would be covered by the blue card.

Good luck to you, Nicola - it's slow progress but we're getting there!

Speak soon.

Simon XX