My Husband's Journey, "The good, the bad and the ugly."

 

My husband was diagnosed with SC / BOT/one lymph node. He’s 55, never smoked, rarely drinks and it wasn’t HPV.  He had chemo and 30 radiation treatments. First chemo was cisplatin but they had to switch to carboplatin because he had loss of hearing and tinnitus. Yesterday was his 6 week post treatment scope. NED!!!!

 

I know everyone has a different journey, but I think it’s nice to hear about as many as possible when first diagnosed. I know this group was a life-saver for us so here goes. First of all, my husband worked right through the treatment. He did miss a couple of days here and there, usually a day or two after chemo. The longest he took off was his last day of rads and chemo. It was a Monday. He went to work the Tuesday then had to take Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off.  He has been back full time ever since the last week of treatment. As far as pain meds went, he only took Advil and Tylenol. The doctors and nurses don’t know how he managed that ( or working for that matter ) but that’s what he took. He also used magic mouthwash and lydocane. He gargled non-stop with warm water, salt, and baking soda. He didn’t have a PEG, and after about three weeks could only drink Ensure or Boost. He drank six a day, VERY RELUCTANTLY. It was drink the stuff or deal with me, drinking was the easier of the two I guess. He lost the most weight in the first month, about 16 lbs, and only 7 in the last two months. The worst part was about two weeks after the last treatment. He started eating normal food again around three weeks post treatment. That’s when he got his sense of taste back. He lost that around week 2 of treatment. Today he’s eating pretty much anything he wants. We had bbq steak on Sunday and he ate that. He still has to chew the snot out of everything and has to drink after every bite, but he does and he enjoys it! He says his throat is still sore, but nothing he can’t tolerate at this point. He doesn’t take Advil anymore either. Once in awhile it bothers his so he takes a Tylenol.

 

 The only thing bothering him now is, a few days ago he said the back of his neck and down his arms started bugging him. Not pain, tingling or numbness, just the top of the skin is sensitive if anything brushes against it. Anyone?

 

Also, if anyone has the stomch he has three pictures of what his throat looked like. Beginning, middle, and yesterday. VERY GRAPHIC, but it gives you a very good idea of what goes on.

 

 So, that’s my amazing, wonderful, best husband in the worlds story!