New Kid in Town

GravelPit
GravelPit Member Posts: 2
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hi there.

I'm new to posting here, having just found these discussion boards recently.

I was diagnosed HPV-16 last July. No tumor was found but several lymph nodes lit up in first PET, so I did 34 days of Rads and 6 doses of Cisplatin.

I finished treatment in late October '17, and have been mending ever since. I know that everyone is different, but here we are, 5 months later, and I don't feel like I'm healing fast enough. Anyone else want to share their experiences with length of time healing; how soon they had their PEG out; how much solid food they are eating; etc.?

I'm just curious as to where you are on your journey.

Thanks

Comments

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #2

    GravelPit,

    Welcome to the H&N forum, where GravelPit often describes a H&N throat.  I am happy that treatment is behind you and like everyone (it must be) of us we want you to return to the promised life, i.e  ”New Normal”.  Some members feel that the “old normal” is the path to happiness, but most of us are not allowed past the real life bouncers of our previous life and our  new life with rebuilt and damaged life conditions (above the shoulders) is what we have to work with.

    I followed the 7 month (post) road to eating again.  The gravity must be tremendous as time was measurably slower.  I did make an immediate pit stop in POP-A-PEG (2 weeks post).  I read the H&N owner’s manual and it talks about nutrition and hydration if you remove your PEG.  If you can drink and eat your way through 2K to 3K calories a day, then go for it.

    I was very happy to drink my 10,000 smoothies (exaggeration) and I always sampled foods, all the time.  My path was mine and so far  so good.  The absolute truth, corn-on-the-cob and sweet tea were good from day one post (go figure).  I am 6 years post and eat whatever I want.  I do not want hot, but a little spicy is nice.  I tried to eat many, many times and I counted the  failures up to a learning experience.

    I am now going to eat a late breakfast of either a combination of cold cereals or toast  and sunny side up eggs.

    The choice is yours.

    Matt

  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    #3
    Fast healer here. Maybe I'm

    Fast healer here. Maybe I'm lucky, maybe it's my age (47) and my relative good to great health prior to diagnosis or my attitude or a combination of all of it.

    I did the 35 rads and 3 mega doses of Cisplatin chemo.


    I didn't do a PEG tube or chemo port. I never lost the ability to taste food but I did loose the ability to eat solids for about 2 weeks near the end of treatment (spitting up pieces of bloddy throat tissue and mucous so bad I could not swallow). I was on liquid only for a few weeks. By less than 60-days post treatment I was eating anything I wanted to and could taste all of it. By 4 months out I was back to 100% minus some loss of saliva. I've put all my weight back on (actually have to watch what I eat) and my energy levels are great. The 'new normal' for me isn't much different than the pre-cancer normal. I appreciate life a bit more and I carry a water bottle with me. That's about the only difference.


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