Just done treatment today......

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buellman91
buellman91 Member Posts: 32
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I had SCC on the left side of my neck in 2006....Dignosed with SCCT4 last Jan.-got 3 rounds of Cisplatin over 9 weeks(last Chemo 10 days ago)and 35 Radiations which ended today.....I am feeding exclusively off the PEG and have lost my voice, essentially my ability to swallow and of course my sense of taste! SO, considering the damage from from 2006, when can I expect my throat to heal enough to be able to swallow real food again?

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  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #2
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    that's the 64 dollar question
    If you'll read my bio, you will see that I'm just ahead of you a handful of weeks. I had my first SCC in 1998, treated with rads and radical neck dissection. My second cancer was in 2010, which resulted in a major surgery for resection and reconstruction, followed by a recurrance last year. I just finished rads for the second time 6 weeks ago.

    Although I had essentially no problems with my first rads in 1998, except loss of taste and saliva, this time was harder. At six weeks I'm still on a liquid diet. Didn't need a PEG, didn't lose weight this time. I'm almost off pain medication--- got significant mouth ulcers this time, and they are slowly healing, almost done. It has just been too uncomfortable to eat solid food, so Ive waited. I've been trying about once a week since completing therapy. Got a pretty narrow opening to shovel food at this time, so I've started physical therapy on my jaw in the last week.

    I went about six weeks without talking. My tongue was thicck as a brick and my voice sounded like an idiot. That's rapidly improving now. And yours will too. I also had bloody mucus for the first month. Not for the last 2 weeks now, and i admit that was somthing that I could have worried about, had I not just decided I wouldn't:)

    You need to be patient with yourself. Pain and other radiation side-effects will peak at about 2 weeks post rads, then will start to improve. Some days you may think they won't ever go away, but they will. I just today commented to my wife I'm no longer carrying kleenex with me everywhere for ropy saliva and just general mucus. Huh, that pretty much stopped at a month, for me anyway.

    Keep the faith, man.

    Pat

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