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Radiotherapy for Throat Cancer

Anchor1707
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Hello all,

I have posted my little story on introduce yourself and basically I have been diagnosed with Stage 1 Throat cancer.

The prognosis is hopeful and I remain cheerful and positive. Its taken a while for the actual treatment to start so glad to get on with it at last.

I started my first day of radiotherpy today and have 29 more treatments to go over 6 week period.
I have made a little computer programme that logs my side effects and summarises episodes of each heading and I plan on keeping a daily log of how things went/ how I feel ( good and bad ) and map out my journey. I find it therapuetic.

I will share periodically in the hope that even if it helps one person as well as myself  it will be worthwhile.

So day 1 was fine and I dont really feel any difference or notice anything.
One small point is that the mask made was slightly harder than when it was first made as it has set little harder over the weeks and was a little more moveable on the day made.
Took about 10 mins for actual radiotherpay treatment itself.
Drove home fine.

Meet with advanced practioner nurse every Thurs to discuss progress.
Aware might be a little different along the way but all good after day 1.

 

kind regards

Ian

 

  • Offline in reply to Anchor1707

    Best news today Ian, well done fella. I can now FULLY sympathise with yourself, Hazel ,Dave and others on SALIVA IMPACT. My rash meant antihistamines, which meant dehydradion, on already impacted saliva. I made eating a chore. Well, i have inadvertently lost 5 pounds. Now i know a good diet plan for future, 1400 calories and FOUR LITRES of water a day. But i need to get it back to normal and get a few pounds back on. This saliva thing is ROTTEN, good luck to anyone who suffers, im getting back to new normal now pills stopped.

  • Offline in reply to TFS

    Thanks Graeme saliva is still my main issue ,like I’ve said before until u haven’t any or have limited yiu have absolutely no idea on how vital a role is played by it .shecsays whilst vainly trying to eat a baguette with pate on it lol .weight wise I am holding now at 9 st 10 which is fine by me. 

    Have a good weekend everyine come on Oscar ( Dave) superman need your results to come through ! 

    Man U can cope with 1-0 just need a 2-0 win at nou camp

     

    h x

  • Offline in reply to TFS

    Thanks Graeme and also sounds like you are, in the main,on the mend.

    And yup, some of the side effcets are rotten and debiliating.

    I'm really pleased to hear you are getting back to your new normal now and long may it continue.
    Please keep us posted on progress and scans etc.

    Hope you also find the balance of where you want to be regarding your singing etc and that you are able to decide rather than have decided for you if you know what I mean,

    All the very best
    Ian
     

  • Offline in reply to Anchor1707

    Thank youI  Ian, best wishes

  • Offline in reply to RadioactiveRaz

    Nice one Ian sounds like you have turned the corner great to hear, 

     

    TFS you are right about the saliva, its my one problem but it has a big impact on your life, I cant wait for it to return.

     

    Thanks Hazel I had my PET scan last week and the results are next thursday, its on my mind a lot Im just trying to keep busy and be patient which isnt one of my strong points, a mate who I play football with has just had the all clear from Esophogus cancer, made my day yesterday when he told me. :)

    Winning at the Nou Camp is a big ask Hazel but you never know.

    Dave

  • Offline in reply to Oscar2020

    Hi Dave you will be fine I csn ferl it in my bones. Please message on Thursday. Re football fingers n toes x but agree hard one. 

    My saliva still not 100% have brief moments of thinking yep it’s bsck but then days of sticky glue in mouth unless you’ve had it like us it’s so hard to explain to anyone isn’t it. 

    Obesrds n upwards. Off to pick daughter n grandson up at airport coming to us for a week so that will be goid 

    take care love to Julie xx

  • Offline in reply to RadioactiveRaz

    Thanks Hazel Julie sends here regards x have a great time with your family :)

     

  • Offline

    Hi

    I just wanted to thank everyone involved in this thread, as reading it has been incredibly helpful over the last few weeks.

    My husband had a swelling on his neck diagnosed as cancerous at the start of this month (April 2019).  It was a shock: he's never smoked, rarely drinks, cycles regularly, eats sensibly and is in good health - or so we believed.  Since then he's undergone a CT scan and biopsy which have confirmed the tumour as being at the base of his tongue and HPV16+.  He hasn't had his tonsils removed, as the sugeon doing the biopsy/panendoscopy thought they looked OK, but going by the scan the consultant thinks one has been affected, as well as some lymph nodes.  He gets assessed by the dental team tomorrow and has an MRI booked for the end of this month, plus whatever other appointments are yet to be arranged, with chemoradiotherapy due to start in about 4 weeks.

    The last couple of weeks have been stressful (to say the least!), but this - and a couple of other similar threads - have been incredibly useful, as have the wonderful blogs by Ian and Hazel.  Having an insight into the treatments and their side effects meant that we felt quite well informed about what lies ahead even before speaking to the hospital consultants, and instead of everything being a blur, we were able to take in what was said and manage to ask some sensible questions.  Without all of you generously sharing your experiences it would have been a very different story.

    Because of that, I wanted to let people know how important this thread has been for us - and that all your tips for coping with the treatment etc have been gratefully noted!  It's not a good situation to find ourselves in, but we feel pretty positive that we'll come out the other side in one piece.

    I hope everyone who has posted, or who might be reading this, is doing well and continues to do so. 

    Thanks again, and best wishes to you all

  • Offline in reply to Jaxter

    Hi Jaxter,

    Thank you for your kind words and i'm really pleased you found the thread and both blogs helpful.

    I'm sorry to hear of the diagnosis but its good to note your positive attitude as I am a firm believer that is a tremedous help.While you will have read of the challenges, you will also have read the positives and noted that the light at the end of the tunnel actually exists
    Please keep in touch with progress and also post away here on the thread.

    Let me know if I can help in anyway at all.

    Onwards and Upwards
    Kind regards
    Ian

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