neck lump

wmc

concerned parent said:

Treatment

Hi All..sorry I havent been on here for awhile. My son has started treatment and I traveled up to where he lives for the last month. Hes had 19 radiation treatments so far and 1 chemo. They were supposed to do the second chemo last tues but his white blood cells were to low and hopefully they do the second one this week. Ive come home for a week to catch up on things and as soon as I know they are doing another round of chemo I will fly back up there again. Hes had alot of problems swollowing and he says that his mouth tastes like copper. Its a chore to try to get him to eat. Hes been living basically on chicken noodle soup and its been hard to find something he will drink. Ive tried milkshakes, smoothies, portein drinks etc but he gags on them. Has anyone got any other suggestion as to what to try? Im very impressed with the cancer clinic thats treating him and hopefully we can get through the next month and then get on with the recovery period. Wishing you all the best of luck !!!!

Copper tastes...

Make sure he lets the doctor about the copper taste. Might not be from the rads, and something else. As for the chicken soup, If he can try Cream of Chicken it does have twice the calories and is better for you I think. I did not have radiation but I had swolling problems before and after they took my larnyx. That soup sure saved me. It is good on white rice also, if you make it with only half the water and that can help with the weight as well. Just remind him, he is almost done with the rads. Be well, thoughts and prayers going your way.

wmc

CivilMatt

concerned parent said:

Treatment

Hi All..sorry I havent been on here for awhile. My son has started treatment and I traveled up to where he lives for the last month. Hes had 19 radiation treatments so far and 1 chemo. They were supposed to do the second chemo last tues but his white blood cells were to low and hopefully they do the second one this week. Ive come home for a week to catch up on things and as soon as I know they are doing another round of chemo I will fly back up there again. Hes had alot of problems swollowing and he says that his mouth tastes like copper. Its a chore to try to get him to eat. Hes been living basically on chicken noodle soup and its been hard to find something he will drink. Ive tried milkshakes, smoothies, portein drinks etc but he gags on them. Has anyone got any other suggestion as to what to try? Im very impressed with the cancer clinic thats treating him and hopefully we can get through the next month and then get on with the recovery period. Wishing you all the best of luck !!!!

side effects

 

CP,

He is over half way through treatments and that is good.

Two things he needs to work on, swallowing and nourishment.  For the swallowing it can be water and little sips at a time, but it is best if he does it often and all day long.  For nutrition, I had such a hard time with eating I fell back on smoothies and protein drinks, often doctored up with nuts and oil to add calories.

I also had a PEG tube for quick calories, but I always drank at least one meal a day and swallowed gallons of water.

He just has to find what foods and drinks he can manage right now.  Hopefully, this will be short term.

Good luck,

Matt

 

debbiejeanne

concerned parent said:

Treatment

Hi All..sorry I havent been on here for awhile. My son has started treatment and I traveled up to where he lives for the last month. Hes had 19 radiation treatments so far and 1 chemo. They were supposed to do the second chemo last tues but his white blood cells were to low and hopefully they do the second one this week. Ive come home for a week to catch up on things and as soon as I know they are doing another round of chemo I will fly back up there again. Hes had alot of problems swollowing and he says that his mouth tastes like copper. Its a chore to try to get him to eat. Hes been living basically on chicken noodle soup and its been hard to find something he will drink. Ive tried milkshakes, smoothies, portein drinks etc but he gags on them. Has anyone got any other suggestion as to what to try? Im very impressed with the cancer clinic thats treating him and hopefully we can get through the next month and then get on with the recovery period. Wishing you all the best of luck !!!!

hi, concerned.  glad you gave

hi, concerned.  glad you gave us an update and that tx is half over!  it won't be long now.  like matt said, it is very important that he keep swallowing.  he may lose the ability to do so if he doesn't.  we all understand eating being a chore.  we all went thru that.  that will get better tho after tx.  he will not be back to "normal" just because he finishes tx, that will takes months but he will see improvement with time.  i hope he is able to get the next chemo tx.  check out the superthread for more suggestions on what he can eat.  there are a lot of great suggestions there.  saying prayers for you and your son.  i look forward to the "finished tx" post!

God bless,

dj

PJ47

concerned parent said:

Treatment

Hi All..sorry I havent been on here for awhile. My son has started treatment and I traveled up to where he lives for the last month. Hes had 19 radiation treatments so far and 1 chemo. They were supposed to do the second chemo last tues but his white blood cells were to low and hopefully they do the second one this week. Ive come home for a week to catch up on things and as soon as I know they are doing another round of chemo I will fly back up there again. Hes had alot of problems swollowing and he says that his mouth tastes like copper. Its a chore to try to get him to eat. Hes been living basically on chicken noodle soup and its been hard to find something he will drink. Ive tried milkshakes, smoothies, portein drinks etc but he gags on them. Has anyone got any other suggestion as to what to try? Im very impressed with the cancer clinic thats treating him and hopefully we can get through the next month and then get on with the recovery period. Wishing you all the best of luck !!!!

Cream of wheat

was my go to and you can make it as runny or thick as you want.  It did not feel bad going down.  I found a healthy supplement call Cal natural svelte which I still drink.  It is organic soy milk with vitamins etc.  It was the only supplement I could tolerate the taste of.  Smoothies bothered my throat for a few weeks, and anything with milk in it made me have terrible mucous.    He is almost through it!  Take care,

PJ

GavinP

PJ47 said:

Cream of wheat

was my go to and you can make it as runny or thick as you want.  It did not feel bad going down.  I found a healthy supplement call Cal natural svelte which I still drink.  It is organic soy milk with vitamins etc.  It was the only supplement I could tolerate the taste of.  Smoothies bothered my throat for a few weeks, and anything with milk in it made me have terrible mucous.    He is almost through it!  Take care,

PJ

Just been reading...

Concerned Parents original posts - Honestly, what are some of these Dr's like? I'm pleased the forum is here to break down these ridiculous myth's like only 40% survival for Head & Neck Cancer!

Tell your son to hang in there and we're all rooting for him.