I have been recently diagnosed also with throat cancer t2/3 as have had tonsils out but cancer is present at base of tongue and and in larynx and small mass in my lymph gland,  I don't start treatment now for 3-4 weeks so it will be good to follow you and see your progress during this difficult time.

Good luck with the treatment. 

I have been recently diagnosed also with throat cancer t2/3 as have had tonsils out but cancer is present at base of tongue and and in larynx and small mass in my lymph gland,  I don't start treatment now for 3-4 weeks so it will be good to follow you and see your progress during this difficult time.

Good luck with the treatment. 

Hi Andy,

I wish you well on your journey and hope you keep us posted as you progress.

I hope you have had a chance to read the blogs that both myself and Hazel highlighted links for earlier  as you will get some indication from them on what you might have to expect as well as a bunch on tips we hope are useful.We have both finished treatment and at different stages of recovery just now.

best wishes

ian

Hi Ansybcan only echo what Ian has said read our blog s you get an idea remember we are all different and re act in different way s

i was T2N2NM0 

my blog is www.radioactiveraz.wordpress.com with links to Ians

hazel

Hi friends, that is me finished, 33 radiotherapy fractions, took 8 weeks almost, instead  of 6 and a half due to machine upgrades and breakdowns.

I would like to thank Hazel Radioactive Raz, Ian Anchor , Dave Oscar,  Newlymarried Emma  for their personal input, plus Eric in Spain. Also the admin for helping me join the board. I will keep monitoring and contributing, is has been as helpful to me as some of my nurses!!

I have updated when i had a slight issue or 2 to discuss and got great support, i have refrained from overdoing it as i feel lucky, in that my side effects were not as acute. Here are tips i learned that worked for me in addition to the tips i picked up here.

Mouth ;

i had no ulcers or burns, mucositis minimal. I put a lot down  to the fact i was given Amino Acids supplements,I know again, i got lucky, the NHS dont provide this i hear, it is very expensive, however maybe they do not believe in its benefit , not sure. I daily, used plenty of salt/baking soda gargles, after any food at all. I was given a mouthwash the hospital here make up and give in plastic bottles. Seems to be the same recipe as "magic mouthwash" which you can google. Made eating a breeze, never stopped eating solids all the way except one night , and i wanted to try liquidised food. Was fine too! A thing i tried myself, just as a thought, was kids fluoride toothpaste, i used it of course for the fluoride, but   also the strawberry taste helped my tastebuds. A tip a nurse gave  me was to put soda water on the tongue and suck, to clear tastebuds.

Skin;

I bought on advice a cream called ISDN. Sadly i was allergic to it and came out in a mess! My skin has always been a problem! So switched to RADIOCARE green bottle. 20 quid a bottle but boy did it sort it, as i was playing catch up from the allergy.

Excercise; i kept to a 20 min walk regime, plus press ups every other day. I am 57 but fit (ish, nothing competative these days like Dave!). I think it helped , and the thirst helped me keep drinking more water ( Ian is correct helps at least to get swallowing excercises in).

Saliva:  been reasonably ok, i know again , a bit lucky, i pleaded them to spare as much as possible , as a pro singer, it would be a career ender.........let's see how that goes!  But ive always chewed sugar free gum. Lo and behold, the brand i use here has Xylitol in it! 7 years been using it never noticed. Trident spearment, v cheap, really helped on driest days and car journeys. 

Pain; they gave me a patch after week 3. I wasnt in pain, never have been, will know soon enough when i stop using, what it did for me!  They said expect constipation, as drug was stronger than morphene,  Fentanyl, 12 mcgms, smallest dose to get me used to it.  I never used the laxative they gave me , i took my own......daily pureed apples, added a touch of cinammon, put it in porridge or ate it straight. Excellent.

Think that is my story up to date, i now await the dreaded recovery period i am about to enter, will keep in touch for support, i expect pain to arrive/peak, swallowing to be tricky and...who knows? The one thing the docs and nurses say, and also our friends on here  is    EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. 

Maybe i will come out of it a better singer?!  not hard to be honest!!   Graeme.

Hi Graeme and first of all, great that you have now finsished all your treatment.

Next - really good you have listed these tips and also the fact that you have been able to get through the way you have. All fingures crossed that your recovery phase is not too bad and side effects kept to a minimum.

I spoke to my specialist team today and spoke about recovery periods.
Seems to be, according to them, on average, six months before a return to work considered and then with a long phased return. I think they thought thatSuperdave is a rare case with recovery so quick.
It does re iterate what many of us say and you also point out is that we are all different. Was also told today  recovery also depends on the tumor, where it is and the treatment given.I guess being reasonably fit would help as well.
So again no magic recovery period as standard for anyone and we all find our own.
If you don't mind, I will incorporate some of your additional tips in blog as tips in one section to read and I do point out they are not just mine but from others as well

Lastly i'm pleased that it wont seem to effect your singing as you did say you had a slight concern over at the start so thats great.

Keep in touch over your recovery period and nice to hear another positive journey despite the treatment.
ps - thank you for your kind words

Onwards and Upwards
Ian

Cheers Ian, and that bit about tumours.......not been mentioned much so i said nothing, but it is my belief that the main reason we are all different is just that, tumour/size/spread to nodes/mets.....all hugely  impact on treatment they decide treatment therefore recovery. To think, you went back to work so soon. Time will tell when you really are feeling right. Best wishes.

Hi Graeme, I thought pertinent to raise re tumors after speaking with specialist as it would account for a lot over recovery periods,makes sense and as you say, like we all say, is that we are all different.
I think the main thing to take out of it all is for anyone not to focus on any one person/other individual and use them as a barometre against their own recovery expectations.We will all find our own timelines.

Just curious when you say pro singer. What does that involve for you if you dont mind me asking. Are you in a band/solo and do you perform live.
I hope that your recovery phase is not too bad and gets you back to where you want to be singing wise.
regards.Ian

Hi Graeme well done congratulations take it steady baby steps remember keep well keep in touch at Portsmouth thanks for updates 

h x

Hi Graeme.

It was interesting that you mentioned the impact of TNM on treatment. Even more relevant is tumour depth in H&N cancers. Up to 4mm and up to 4 to10mm has an impact on treatment decisions. As does outstanding relevant health conditions, as this affects balance in quality of life decisions and fitness for treatment.

I dont suppose many of us are privy to that information though. I hit a brick wall trying to get info on stage. I know TNM and grade but not stage. And depth affects stage. I was very aware that when doing biopsy they went deep into tumour to collect sample and I did wonder why at the time.

Kind regards wishing you all the best.

PS Im not sure if T in TNM is length,width and incl depth.

just a quick note for any interested

i have updated my blog following quite a lenghty discussion with my specialist from support team today and have now incorporated quite a detailed section on recovery phase and some of the factors that can determine why we all have different recovery times

I found it re assuring as thought I was lagging behind a bit, but felt better after discussion and also more informed and as such updated blog.

ian

Hi, Clara, yes these factors dictate the stage, you can google it, T is tumour  size N is amount of lymph nodes involved M  is metastasis if spread further, these add up on a scale, stages 1 to 4 with some sub stages. I think anyway!