1 Year NED...BUT

oldvamp

As of the end of August (2016), I was ready to celebrate my first year after treatment for metastaic base-of-tongue cancer  ... and then I wound up in the hospital again. 

I went in for my bi-monthly checkup with my ENT, got a clean bill of health, and felt wonderful about being NED (although I had been feeling progressively more fatigued over the previous 6-7 months or so).  Two days afterward, I woke up with a sore throat and a 102 fever.  I went in to see my PCP, I had a CAT scan which showed that I had a soft issue infection in my neck.  My ENT immediately had me admitted to the hospital.  Turns out I had cellulitus in my throat from a strep infection which had gone severly septic.  I stayed in the hospital for 6 more days getting bags of hi-potency antibiotics and was told that had I waited a few hours longer my organs would've started to shut down.

Hondo - I have another side effect for your list.  (I had 33 rad treatments and 3 Cisplatin doses.)  I was informed that with H & N cancers, you may be overly suseptable to thrush, as well as to cellulitis in the areas that had been irradiated.  (Another of the perks of having our immune systems short circuited).

CivilMatt

stay better

oldvamp,

That is pushing the enjoyment of the NED down to the wire.  Now, that you have those incidents taken care of I hope you start to reap the NED you deserve.

Matt