Hi Nicola.

It seems I am in a similar boat to you, I delayed going to the gp for a month as I have had tonsiliis a lot so tried all the thing I normally do, then the gp tried strong anti biotics but as soon as I knew they were not working I went back.

As I said to her a sore throat should not last for 6 weeks so within 2 weeks I had an ENT appointment.

Things moved fairly fast then, they booked me into a onestop clinic for neck lumps(idea was to be seeen by everyone in one visit and be told what was wrong on the day) but also a ct and surgery to put a camera down and take samples. by the time i went to the clinic i had already had the ct scan (the day before) and a date for surgery(biopsy) I was only in the clinic a few min as they told me about the mass on the ct and needed the samples and MRI to know more. at no time has anyone told me in the way your gp has, it seems bad untill the have formulated a plan as it seems to me not all are the same. I am ecpecting a combination of chemo r/t and surgery.

I have only told one other person apart from my wife as timings are not good and untill I have answers it will just be harder. 

Seems like a heavy burdon at the moment.

Ken.

Hi all how are we all doing?

sorry not been around but it's been crazy at work

welcome aboard all you new peeps I know you prefer not to be here but this is a great place to be if you are in our club

mutant of which you are not I had throat cancer I got away with not having surgery and am now 7 months post treatment and very much on the mend although I have still got a way to go to get back to what I was

i diarised my experience on my blog page so it might give you some idea about what you are about to go through gammaraygary.wordpress.com/about/

so what's doing all looking forward to meeting you all in AprilApril

Hi Gary, good to hear from you.   I'm getting along fine, apart from a heavy cold and prolonged extra morning gunge in throat - as if I didn't have enough of that already!).  Very busy at work and lots going on at this time of year with birthdays, a diamond wedding party tonight, Australian godson arriving from Nigeria in April and of course our Big Day Out in London on the 25th.  Really looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the gang.

Hello to everyone else on the thread, in particular newbie Ken.  You've come to a great place for moral support, sounding off and making new friends who know all about what you are going through.  I also had surgery (to remove neck lump and a tonsil) then chemo & RT.  I'm now 14 months post treatment and life is pretty much back to normal, apart from the occasional moan about morning cough, dry mouth and change of eating habits.  I went back to work part-time 2 months after my treatment ended, but I struggled with fatigue for a while. I'm sure you'll find Vatch's blog of great help, as well as reading back through the posts on here.  It does feel like a really heavy burden at the start of the journey, but you will soon be looking back and realising the treatment, although pretty nasty, was well worth going through.

Best of luck and keep in touch.

Irene

PS - Mary I hope your MDT meeting went well and you're making progress with eating.

Thank you Irene.

Already this site is helpful if not making it more scary as it is getting less and less unknown about what is to come.  I am sure once I have the meeting to spell out what we are to do I will have a great thirst(seems that will last about A year) for info about what is to come.

Vatch's blog will help as a lot of the things like the dry mouth will help, I will let my wife read this nearer the time if she wants as she is going to have to deal with a lot.

Ken.

Hello all, my MDT meeting did not go too well. The tumour was more aggressive than first thought. I have to have 30 radiotherapy sessions over six weeks to both sides of my neck. Go to the Beatson tomorrow to have my mask done then again on Thursday for the simulator. Anyone got any advice regarding the side effects? My radiotherapy starts proper from 20th April until 2nd June. Many thanks. Mary xx

​

​

​

​

Hi Mary

It's a very daunting process you are about to enter, but don't be too overly concerned

It was not until I went for my ,mask fitting that it registered with me what i was aboutto go through. Colin is right the mmask fitting session is quick but more wier than frightening. It's just a warm plastic mesh that fits round your face and hardens fairly quickly. It can feel quite clostrophobic but just hang in there as as far as I kow no one has had any serious injuries.

Make friends with your mask as its going to be part of your through your treatment and you get to keep it at the end ...WOW!!!

I had Tomotherapy for my throat cancer (30 of them) and 6 all day chemo sessions and although the radio therapy session were hard towards the end the all day chemo session were just mind numbingly boring

I created a blog as I went through my treatment, which might be of use to you .. it might not

gammaraygary.wordpress.com/about/

Shout if there is anything you want to know there are some great people on here that can help

Vatch

Hi Mary, sorry to hear that you do need to have radiotherapy but this is fairly standard practice and you are in good company here, as most of us have had the same treatment.  I had 30 RT sessions too, plus a weekly dose of chemo. Everyone will have slightly different experiences but like Colin, I thought the mask-making session was a piece of cake.  The simulator was like a taster for the treatment itself, which didn't trouble me as you don't feel a thing.  However, like Vatch, that was also when it hit home for me that this was for real.  I still have my mask and had fully intended to try and turn it into something useful (a planter/flower arrangement?!) but never got round to that or coming up with something more imaginative!

My biggest problem was the excess mucus in my throat.  I already had a condition called 'post-nasal drip' and the RT aggravated this as well as my problems with sickness (chemo-related).  Hopefully you will escape the worst of that.

I was very liberal with the aqueous cream they give you, and think that helped a lot.   I did need dressings on my neck for a couple of days but it healed very quickly and soon afterwards there was no sign of any redness.

By the time you read this you will have had your mask made, so hope that went OK for you.

Stay positive.  It won't be a walk in the park but before you know it, this will all be behind you and you will start moving forward and getting life back to normal.

Best wishes and keep in touch

Irene x

Hi Ken

I do worry a bit about striking the right balance on here between making the treatment sound too scary and making it sound 'copable' - sorry can't think of the right word - but the truth is that it is both. A daunting prospect but one which many of us have survived intact and emerged feeling a bit 'bruised' initially but ultimately glad that we live in an age where this treatment is both available and very effective. So the dry mouth and altered eating habits, while a literal pain in the neck, are a small price to pay for keeping the enemy at bay - think I feel another poem coming on :confused:

Stay positive and keep in touch.  Good idea for your wife to read up as much as she can on what to expect too.

Best wishes

Irene

Hello again, well I have been to have my mask made and as you said it was a dawdle. I went again the next day for the Simulator but the mask did not fit properly and they had to get the chap from the mould room in twice to adjust it. Then the nurse could not get a vein to put the dye in and had to call a doctor in. So a 10 minute appointment turned into an hour|||  Still that's it all ready now. I go back on the 16th for pre-assessment meeting and my radiotherapy starts proper on 20th April.

Can I ask if anybody is able to eat nearly normal foods again. At the moment I am having to put everything through the blender before eating as 9/10ths of my tongue was removed and I have a flap in place of it. Does this get any better or do I need to blend my meals for the rest of my life? I know my life will never be the same again but I was just wondering if this was it. I'm buying Marks & Spencer's meals at the moment and one meal does me twice after blending. At least it gives me some variety and I can sort of taste what it is with the little bit of tongue that was left. Although this may not be the case once I've had all my radiotherapy.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thankyou, Mary