Finished Radiation Treatment for Tongue Cancer

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Agatha
Agatha Member Posts: 62
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I just wanted to write to say I finished my radiation treatment on Wednesday. I am feeling the effects a lot more now, but I am trying to stay positive.

I posted here last month about my fears about radiation and how I was contemplating on stopping treatment. I want to thank all of you again for your advice, kind words and encouragement to focus on the bigger picture - fighting this to stay alive. I kept all of you in my thoughts as I went through treatment and kept reminding myself how strong you all are. I still don't have a sense of relief, and maybe I never will because of the fear of it coming back, but at least I am fighting as much as I can. Hopefully when I have my scan I will receive good news and go on from there.

Agatha

Comments

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
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    Hi Agatha
    I am glad to hear you finish all your treatment and now the healing part will start. It may take some time before everything starts to come back to a new normal for you but life after cancer is great.

    Take care and keep posting we love hearing from you
    Hondo
  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #3
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    Good Job
    Hi Agatha,
    I am so glad to hear you are done with treatment. I know it's tough. It was hard for anyone to advise you to stop treatment, because you were already in the middle of it, so it's great (and painful) to have finished it. It will still be a rough road for a bit, as the effect of treatment will be with you a while longer, but, no more daily trips. I'm looking for a clean scan for you, and a steady return to a pain free and rewarding life.
    You've taken good care of yourself, welcome to the tough cookie club.

    best, Hal
  • mixleader
    mixleader Member Posts: 267 Member
    #4
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    No Rads
    Hey, Agatha. Great job on completing the rads. It is indeed a tough road. I also had thoughts of quitting when it started getting tough, but I made myself continue like you did. I wish you a good recovery period and clean scans.

    Roger
  • patricke
    patricke Member Posts: 570
    #5
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    Congrats
    Top of the evening Agatha! Congratulations on hanging in there and completing rad treatment! I so know how much fun it wasn't, as I do not fondly remember mine from when I went through it ten years ago, for base of tongue stage IV. You can feel relieved that you are through that stage and move on in the treatment, recovery and healing process. Keep in mind some days will be better than others, so continue to keep your eye on the big picture, while taking "life" one day, hour, minute, second at a time. Remember, "you can do this!" Take care.

    PATRICK
  • Jimbo55
    Jimbo55 Member Posts: 590 Member
    #6
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    Way to go Agatha
    It must be a big relief to be finished. Stay strong and hopefully you will start feeling better soon. Stay strong and save the worry about a recurrence for another time. Cheers

    Jimbo
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #7
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    Jimbo55 said:

    Way to go Agatha
    It must be a big relief to be finished. Stay strong and hopefully you will start feeling better soon. Stay strong and save the worry about a recurrence for another time. Cheers

    Jimbo

    Agatha!
    Congratulation's on completion of your treatment. Now time for rest & healing. I wish you my best & try to focus on your recovery.
    God Bless
    Roz
  • connieprice1
    connieprice1 Member Posts: 300 Member
    #8
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    Congratulations Agatha,
    My wife Connie has base of tongue cancer stage IV, she is starting radiation Jan,31 and she is worried. She was fitted for her mouthpiece to hold her tongue still but she said it did not fit properly so they are suppose to adjust it, also the mask was a bit tight and she felt trapped. I am hoping that radiation is not as bad as the chemo was. Either way Wwe read your posts when you were thinking about quitting and we are glad to here you continued your treatments. I hope you feel good soon and have very few side effects. Good Luck and keep us posted!!
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #9
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    connieprice1 said:

    Congratulations Agatha,
    My wife Connie has base of tongue cancer stage IV, she is starting radiation Jan,31 and she is worried. She was fitted for her mouthpiece to hold her tongue still but she said it did not fit properly so they are suppose to adjust it, also the mask was a bit tight and she felt trapped. I am hoping that radiation is not as bad as the chemo was. Either way Wwe read your posts when you were thinking about quitting and we are glad to here you continued your treatments. I hope you feel good soon and have very few side effects. Good Luck and keep us posted!!

    Wow. That seemed to go
    Wow. That seemed to go fast, I remember your post when you wanted to quit. I bet that it didn't go that quickly for you though. I know that it so dragged at the end for me. It is a relief when you no longer are getting zapped. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for you. Let the healing begin!
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #10
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    sweetblood22 said:

    Wow. That seemed to go
    Wow. That seemed to go fast, I remember your post when you wanted to quit. I bet that it didn't go that quickly for you though. I know that it so dragged at the end for me. It is a relief when you no longer are getting zapped. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for you. Let the healing begin!

    Happy-
    for you with the rads getting done. Hope you feel better about having gone thru it- knowing you've taken the best/aggressive route in dealing with the C, Agatha. You've given yourself the best chance possible, now, so please feel good about it. Hopes and Prayers going forward.

    kcass
  • BrianKrashpad
    BrianKrashpad Member Posts: 188
    #11
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    Congrats!
    It is so great to hear from yet another person coming out the other side! I have 9 more zaps and though I'm pretty miserable right now I am very much looking forward to the last one!

    Best wishes.

    Be well!
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #12
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    Hondo said:

    Hi Agatha
    I am glad to hear you finish all your treatment and now the healing part will start. It may take some time before everything starts to come back to a new normal for you but life after cancer is great.

    Take care and keep posting we love hearing from you
    Hondo

    Thanks, Hondo
    Thanks so much, Hondo. I really hope so.

    Take care,
    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #13
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    Hal61 said:

    Good Job
    Hi Agatha,
    I am so glad to hear you are done with treatment. I know it's tough. It was hard for anyone to advise you to stop treatment, because you were already in the middle of it, so it's great (and painful) to have finished it. It will still be a rough road for a bit, as the effect of treatment will be with you a while longer, but, no more daily trips. I'm looking for a clean scan for you, and a steady return to a pain free and rewarding life.
    You've taken good care of yourself, welcome to the tough cookie club.

    best, Hal

    Thanks, Hal
    Thanks a lot, Hal. I know I will unfortunately feel the effects, but it is great not having to spend at least 3 hours to travel and wait for treatment (I know others have it worse).
    Thanks for the welcome and for your wishes of a clean scan. I look forward to being in the tough cooke club.

    Take care,
    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #14
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    mixleader said:

    No Rads
    Hey, Agatha. Great job on completing the rads. It is indeed a tough road. I also had thoughts of quitting when it started getting tough, but I made myself continue like you did. I wish you a good recovery period and clean scans.

    Roger

    Thanks, Roger
    Hi, Roger. Thanks, I hope it goes well, too. I am glad to hear that you stuck with it as well.

    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #15
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    patricke said:

    Congrats
    Top of the evening Agatha! Congratulations on hanging in there and completing rad treatment! I so know how much fun it wasn't, as I do not fondly remember mine from when I went through it ten years ago, for base of tongue stage IV. You can feel relieved that you are through that stage and move on in the treatment, recovery and healing process. Keep in mind some days will be better than others, so continue to keep your eye on the big picture, while taking "life" one day, hour, minute, second at a time. Remember, "you can do this!" Take care.

    PATRICK

    Thanks, Patrick
    Thanks a lot, Patrick. Wow, great to hear that you have been keeping so positive for the last 10 years. I appreciate the positive words and I really hope to keep up my positivity. Thanks again - I hope I can!

    Take care,
    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #16
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    Jimbo55 said:

    Way to go Agatha
    It must be a big relief to be finished. Stay strong and hopefully you will start feeling better soon. Stay strong and save the worry about a recurrence for another time. Cheers

    Jimbo

    Thanks, Jimbo
    Hopefully one day I will feel more relieved. But you're right, you can't live life worrying about recurrence. Thanks again.

    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #17
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    rozaroo said:

    Agatha!
    Congratulation's on completion of your treatment. Now time for rest & healing. I wish you my best & try to focus on your recovery.
    God Bless
    Roz

    Thanks, Roz
    Thanks a lot! I appreciate the kind words.

    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #18
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    sweetblood22 said:

    Wow. That seemed to go
    Wow. That seemed to go fast, I remember your post when you wanted to quit. I bet that it didn't go that quickly for you though. I know that it so dragged at the end for me. It is a relief when you no longer are getting zapped. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for you. Let the healing begin!

    Thanks
    You're right, it didn't feel quick for me at all. It really did drag out at the end! I definitely like that I am finally not getting zapped, so in that sense I am relieved.
    Thanks a lot.

    Take care,
    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #19
    Options
    Kent Cass said:

    Happy-
    for you with the rads getting done. Hope you feel better about having gone thru it- knowing you've taken the best/aggressive route in dealing with the C, Agatha. You've given yourself the best chance possible, now, so please feel good about it. Hopes and Prayers going forward.

    kcass

    Thanks, KCass
    Thanks a lot. I am trying to keep that in mind and trying to be happy that I have at least given myself the best chance I could. I appreciate the prayers.

    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #20
    Options
    BrianKrashpad said:

    Congrats!
    It is so great to hear from yet another person coming out the other side! I have 9 more zaps and though I'm pretty miserable right now I am very much looking forward to the last one!

    Best wishes.

    Be well!

    Thanks!
    You'll be there soon! Stay strong and all the best!

    Agatha
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #21
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    connieprice1 said:

    Congratulations Agatha,
    My wife Connie has base of tongue cancer stage IV, she is starting radiation Jan,31 and she is worried. She was fitted for her mouthpiece to hold her tongue still but she said it did not fit properly so they are suppose to adjust it, also the mask was a bit tight and she felt trapped. I am hoping that radiation is not as bad as the chemo was. Either way Wwe read your posts when you were thinking about quitting and we are glad to here you continued your treatments. I hope you feel good soon and have very few side effects. Good Luck and keep us posted!!

    Thanks!
    I can truly understand what your wife is feeling. It is a tough thing to accept, I definitely had a hard time (and I still do even though I completed treatment). The mask was uncomfortable for me as well and was really tight. The radiation specialists pretty much told me it had to be tight, so there wasn't much they could do. I tried to look at the tight fit as a good thing. With it being tight, I just focussed on the fact that then I wouldn't be able to move and so they could effetively get all the areas they needed to get. Also, each treatment lasted for about 5 - 8 minutes for me. So it didn't feel too long. I know it might sound silly, but they put calming music in the background and that helped with time going by more quickly. I also prayed every time. I prayed to God that radiation was getting all the bad stuff that might still be lingering and sparing the good. I know prayer isn't what some people find comforting, but for me, faith means a lot. We are all vulnerable, but when something like cancer hits you really feel it - and faith is all I have, really (that, and the great support of friends and family).
    I never had chemo, but from what I understand the side effects are much more severe. But I believe everyone also has different effects. For radiation, redness of skin in the area that is treated will occur, but some may not get it as bad as others. Also, to help with saliva, the baking soda rinses help and medicated rinse is prescribed for any sores that develop to help with pain. I know the oncologist must have told you this stuff, but just thought I would mention it. I also have a g tube in my stomach because they wanted to ensure I didn't lose any more weight. To be honest, I could eat all through treatment until I hit the end. So right now it is quite hard to eat, but hopefully it will heal soon.

    Thanks again and keep us posted about how her treatments go. I hope her side effects are minimal.

    Agatha

    p.s. my list of effects is in no way exhaustive. There are a lot of effects that some may feel and some may not or some that are more long-term. So I would ask as many questions as you can. I just mentioned some that I felt through my treatment.

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