Well tomorrow is my last of 30 radio sessions, having completed my two chemo sessions last week.  I thought I'd set out some bullet points from my own experience in case they were of any interest to anyone.

Phew.  It's been a hell of a ride.  HPV positive tonsil / large neck dissection and partial thyroidectomy.  Elective PEG before it started.

Weight: from 88 kgs (I'd put on a few as instructed before this started to 77 kgs today.  Some warnings about radio mask getting loose although nothing actually happened on this front. I've been  trying for 5 ensure a day, sometimes a little light on this.

Pain: amazingly very little.  I can do days with no pain relief although I sleep better with.  Taking co-codamol probably 4 times a week overall.

Mouth: I've had a few ulcers the whole time in mouth/tongue but nothing like as bad as I'd imagined.  Had suspected thrush at one point which was medicated and made things in mouth worse for a few days.

Eating:  nothing since end of week 3.  Well-soaked cornflakes the last thing I managed.  For me personally an elective PEG was an extremely good decision.

Drinking: sips of water only. I got dehydrated last week and they would have admitted if they'd had a bed.  Had a couple of litres of saline drip and sent home.

Other bits and bobs: taste is horrible, constant rotting taste in mouth.  Some tinnitis, manageable.  I'm pretty cold and tired quite a lot.

Dogwalking: my daily aim was to attend treatment and to to walk my dogs (a lovely 4 y/o Viszla and a 1 y/o GSP since you ask) however short every day.  I've missed 6 days in the last 6 weeks.

Nausea: bad after chemo each time for about a week.  Worse after second session.  The ? hydrochloride didn't work.  Ondasetron seemed to work much better for me.  This got very bad for a couple of days (falling out of passenger door of car onto all fours on the pavement and chucking guts up on one memorable occasion).  

The current main issue is the absolutely unbelievable amount of mucus/phlegm my throat is producing.  I'm only sleeping a max of 40 mins at a time as it wakes me up to hack up some quite unbelievable stuff into a bowl or tissue.  Totally gross.  Overall though it is manageable.  I'll look into nebulizer.

Although I've barely posted on this thread I've been grateful for the help and advice.  

Just one minor tip, if I may?  I've made a huge effort to engage with other patients both through treatment and social media.  I've met some wonderful people this way (one through this forum) and they have been hugely supportive despite their own challenges. The pleasure of seeing a friendly face when I turn up to daily radiotherapy or getting a message of encouragement on my phone when I've been laid up feeling rocky in bed has made an immense difference to me.  

Best of luck to all the patients and carers who are dealing with this nasty stuff.

James

{Edited to include reference to PEG tube}