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

It was a real privilege to meet up with my forum friends Nicola, Simon, Vatch, Guzzle and his friend Jayne on Saturday.  We are planning to get together again so watch this space - all welcome!

Thank you so much for posting these! Great pictures. It's so moving to see you all together in real life. 

Lucie

Hi All,

Been away for some time and thought I'd check in again to see how folks are doing. I see that there are some new arrivals on board - wecome to club you didn't want to join! This is a great place to be, get support, share experiences and also pick up tips about how to deal with the various challenges that come along during treatment and recovery.

I'm still clear of cancer and although there are a few lingering side effects, these are slowly being brought under control through medication (levothyroxine for a dodgy thyroid and something else for low blood counts). Life is good and getting better all the time.

Recently had the pleasure of meeting some truly wonderful people that I met on this site (see the photos earlier in this thread). The support and advice we shared with each other during the dark days really helped us through it all -  it certainly helped me anyway.

If anyone reading this is in the depths of CT or RT then take it from us - things do get better although it's hard to imagine that at the time. A year or two ago none of us in those pictures imagined we'd be sitting in a pub drinking and laughing and sharing war stories with our new friends. To all the new arrivals - your turn will come!

Take care and good luck to everyone.

Simon aka Dave / Fray Bentos XX

Thank you.

it is just starting to feel a little different, a lot of indegestion tired by 4pm and of course the dread that in the next few days life may change a hell of a lot.

will i cope how i think iam going to been through a lot in life and this is just an other chapter but a pure *** of one.

Still at least I will have something else to moan about down the pub. lol

Hi Ken

Sounds like your treatment has started and so you have a bit of a rocky road ahead of you.  Good to see that your sense of humour hasn't deserted you despite what life has thrown at you - try and hang onto that!

As you will see from Simon's post above, this site is great for helping you through the treatment.  It will be tough, but you will get through it.  So come on here to ask questions, have a good moan and know that you will be listened to by others who have 'been there'.  

Good luck, and keep in touch.

Irene

Sorry to interrupt the thread, but as I'm not able to PM I wanted to ask if Guzzle posts in here, could you take a look at the fundraising section? We are doing the 'Thunder Run' in July to raise awareness for Head & Neck cancer, and as I know you are a keen runner it'd be great to get you involved.

If anyone else is interested please feel free to check it out too!

All the best to everyone in their battles

Leo

Hi Leo

Just to let you know that I've spoken to Gary (Guzzle) and he has already committed to doing the Thunder Run, which is great news!  

Best of luck

Irene

Hi Everyone 

I have spoken before but I was just reading your comments about chocolate and I was pleased to read I'm not the only one who struggles with it. My cancer and treatment was nearly the same throughout as Nic but I kept my teeth. I was diagnosed in Dec 2013 and now on three monthly checkups ( hi Nic, I've followed all your story) Chocolate sticks all around my mouth and becomes a mass of gloopy mess which I cannot get rid of without a drink! It tastes like pepper and burns my mouth after a few seconds so I avoid( still love the smell though) The other things I've never been able to eat is fruit which I loved. I tend to make smoothies now but mainly Banana . Im down in Canterbury in Kent if anybody comes this way? This site is such a comfort to me as it has helped me to accept that I'm just going through the normal process of post RT/ Chemo treatment for head and neck cancer. I have worriies  that you have all been chatting about which had mostly answered and put my mind at rest many times so thank you guys for posting.

All my best wishes and admiration to everyone who has been on this journey 

God bless everybody with heathy futures 

Carol xxx

Carol

good to hear from you and glad it's going well for you

ok so we miss chocolate, I can accept that one and to be honest I have lost the enjoyment of it .... and it hurts so a good reason to stay off the stuff

i hope you have had a good Christmas and that 2017 holds even greater things for you

keep us all updated

vat h

Your so right Vatch keep well. 

Happy New Year to you too and every one else on this site! 

My very best wishes

Carol 

Your so right Vatch keep well. 

Happy New Year to you too and every one else on this site! 

My very best wishes

Carol 

[[]]

Just wanted to post a pic of some of us from this thread. We had a meet up in Liverpool at the weekend which was our second meeting since we all met on this chat forum a few years ago.

We all came from different parts of the country and it was great to see everyone again and find out how we are doing with life after cancer. Hopefully this will give some inspiration to those of you who are fighting the fight right now. 

Dear all

we all came together with a common goal, we are all achieving that goal and try to help others through it

great to see you all again

xx

I'd have loved to have met you all but I'm in Canterbury which is a long way from Liverpool. Glad you had fun x

Who's who in the photo?? I love to,put faces to names! X

Well we all came from all over Perth in Scotland, Bristol Suffolk and London

From left to right...

Jayne, Garry, Nicola (myself!) Gary's wife, Irene's husband, Irene, Simon, another Gary.

Our next meet up is planned to be in Edinburgh! 

Thanks for posting Nicola.  It was ABFAB catching up with the gang this weekend - and all the more special for this 'child of the sixties' reliving the wonderful Merseyside music of the era.  To any 'newbies' visiting this thread with a recent diagnosis -  I hope that the very special friendship (through this wonderful forum) of this bunch of 'contemporaries' gives you hope that there is lots of life after head & neck cancer.

We supported each other so well during and immediately after diagnosis and treatment and I hope many of you will continue to do so.

Lots of love to all, Irene  x

Hi all - great picture! I'm gutted I missed that as I'm from Liverpool and live in Cheshire (I'm still under Aintree Hospital in Liverpool and go there for my scans and check ups).

I spent a lot of time on the 'branchial cyst' thread years back (started by the legend 'Access') when I was going through my journey. I was originally diagnosed with mucoepidermoid carcinoma with unknown primary in March 2012 and had a neck dissection, tonsilectomy and a piece of my tongue removed.

The years have gone by and I had an MRI scan a few weeks ago which came back clear, and means that I am now offically cured, and will be signed off by my doctor (my primary didn't turn up and it now looks as though it never will). No more scans or visits to the hospital  and any further cancer would be a new one. I must admit I feel a bit of 'survivor's guilt' when I read about the tough times people have here with the radiation. But then getting cancer out of the blue at 33 years old and having major surgery isn't exactly a walk in the park! I do consider myself lucky though, and being able to see my son and daughter who are now 6 and 8 thriving in their young lives and in school is the greatest pleasure of all, you do wonder when you get hit with the diagnosis. They were very little at the time.

Everyone on here was brilliant when I was going through my own journey, and I hope you are all winning. you look like a healthy, thriving bunch on the picture!! :-)

Cheers

Leo

Hi Leo, lovely to hear from you and even better - to know that you have reached that magic 5 year point where you are officially cured - what a great feeling that must be!  However what a bummer that we didn't make contact sooner so that you could have joined our Liverpool get-together.  We plan to do it again in Edinburgh in 2019 so please do watch this space and join us if you can.  Cheers, Irene x