New to throat cancer and am not sure I can do this.

Jimbo55 said:

Stay Strong
Lilwriter,

Tons of good advice for you to follow up with. Yes this site is a lifesaver. Next week you will reach the half way point in your treatment. Sorry it won't get any easier, but it can be done. We are all living proof of that.

It is imperative to finish the entire treatment protocol. You don't want to give this sucker a second chance at you. It's difficult at times but stay strong.

One thing that helped me through treatment was going out for some exercise/a walk every day. It helps both physically and emotionally. Physically it can help with fighting the fatigue that comes with the treatment and may help you better tolerate the side effects. Mentally, getting out of the house and outdoors would help to refresh my mind and keep me from thinking about cancer and treatment for a short bit. Cheers.

Jimbo

Hi Lilwriter

As you can see from all the people that answered your post there are a lot of us here who have all been where you are now. We all made it through the treatment and you can too, sometimes you need a little help and someone to talk too, as it does help. If you need to talk just give me a call, I will PM you my contact info, I am always open to help someone else defeat this Monster.

Wishing you the best
Hondo

im positive that you can do it
I was diag with esophageal cancer in November 2010 and was cyber stalking this site because I have read that if I get a recurrence it would most likey be in the throat area. I have gone through the same issues that you are going through. The radiation and chemo have such a culmulative effect that eventually swallowing is almost impossible. Can you be put to sleep till its over? No, but you can pain medicate yourself into a near coma. Get rid of the pain and float but dont drive or cook or go down stairs and be prepared to just hang on the couch. Is that what you want? Maybe it is, but instead try to be as normal as possible.
I hated the feeding tube. I used the bigg suringe to inject water and sometimes I dissolved vicodin for the tube. Taking a shower sucked. It was -20 outside in Minnesota and the thought of getting into a car and going to radiation appointments was asking alot.
Take a little spoonfull of the magic mouthwash and just sip it real slow. Your reward is that you will numb your mouth and throat. Just a little is all it takes. Then the pills go down much easier.
Get a wedge to raise your head and upper body to sleep. I kept sliding down off of it so I also had a smaller wedge under my knees.
I took Ambien to sleep. It really helped.
During the day I took oxy and vicadin to cope with the pain and just the thought of having cancer. The days ticked by but I am generally a weak person and I still got it done.
Small goals and baby steps baby steps baby steps. Feel a little tiny bit better each day and before long you realize that you feel a ton better.
Jim

Hang in there
I'm 38 and was diagnosed with stage IVa cancer. It was at the base of my tongue. I had 2 additional tumors in the nasopharynx.

The treatment I received was chemo/radiation combo. Chemo was Cisplatin (one of the "big dogs"). I too received 7 wks of radiation and you're absolutely right, it was very difficult to endure. I understand the pain you're feeling....it is very real. The magic mouthwash did nothing for me. I took (through the PEG) pain killers around the clock towards the end of the treatment.

I have some tips, things that helped me cope:
When the mucus builds up, swishing carbonated drinks in your mouth will help break down the mucus. Of course, don't swallow it.

When your feeding tube gets clogged, squirt coca-cola down the tube; it may take quite a bit of force depending on the clog. Doing the warm water rinse after each feeding will help avoid clogs.

If you're nauseated, ask for anti-nausea medicine each time because there are so many they can give you. At one time, I was taking 4 different kinds at once.

I got to the point that I couldn't hold anything down. It took a long time to find a supplement that I could tolerate but we did finally find one....osmolite. It was very gentle on my stomach and put the weight back on me. It's very important that you don't become dehydrated; that's what nearly killed me.

If you haven't started speech therapy, I HIGHLY recommend you start now, even though you may not be having too many problems. They will give you exercises to do that will keep your throat muscles strengthened so that when your treatments are over and your throat heals, you may not have as difficult time eating again. I did not have speech therapy during my treatments (it wasn't suggested to me) and I am 4 months post treatment and still cannot eat solid food very well. I have to keep my PEG for nutrition. BTW, the exercises do not involve eating or drinking (most don't anyway).

The chemo/radiation combination is relatively new for our type of cancer but they have found that it is the most successful. You probably do need the full treatment so as to avoid recurrence. The first round of radiation is the best shot at killing the cancer. If we have to have a second round, they can only give it to us at half the strength. My treatments were successful. My PET and exam revealed no tumors. It is taking time, but I'm starting to feel normal again; considering that I was diagnosed in February, that's pretty good. I do look forward to my sweet taste buds coming back (they are the first to go and the last to come back) and also the ability to swallow food without having to work so hard at it. My muscles did not get exercised or used for a few months and now have "forgotten" how to work;that's why I recommend the therapy.

I felt like I couldn't make it many times but knowing that my family was fighting for me kept me fighting.

You CAN get through this; you have people praying for you and anything is possible with God in control. Just remember that, God is in control. I listened to the song "Won't let go" by Rascal Flatts and imagined that Jesus was singing it to me.

Please feel free to email me anytime, lady_bug1123@yahoo.com. I don't know all the answers but I can tell what we did to get through certain issues. I will pray for you and your family.

You can too
When we started dealing with my husbands Stage IV base of tongue cancer, we also thought we couldn't get through it. Yes, it was extremely difficult. Buzz was hospitalized for a week two different times and had numerous complications. You should get some relief from the pain with the proper medication. Buzz had a patch he wore 24/7 during the worst pain from radiation. Demand adequate pain control! That doesn't mean the pain is gone but does mean it is bearable. I assume you have a PEG. You will need to use it until you are able to take in adequate calories. Buzz lived on his PEG for a solid 4 months and it was 6 months before he stopped using it entirely. You can do this and please let us all help you through it. Karen

jim2011 said:

im positive that you can do it
I was diag with esophageal cancer in November 2010 and was cyber stalking this site because I have read that if I get a recurrence it would most likey be in the throat area. I have gone through the same issues that you are going through. The radiation and chemo have such a culmulative effect that eventually swallowing is almost impossible. Can you be put to sleep till its over? No, but you can pain medicate yourself into a near coma. Get rid of the pain and float but dont drive or cook or go down stairs and be prepared to just hang on the couch. Is that what you want? Maybe it is, but instead try to be as normal as possible.
I hated the feeding tube. I used the bigg suringe to inject water and sometimes I dissolved vicodin for the tube. Taking a shower sucked. It was -20 outside in Minnesota and the thought of getting into a car and going to radiation appointments was asking alot.
Take a little spoonfull of the magic mouthwash and just sip it real slow. Your reward is that you will numb your mouth and throat. Just a little is all it takes. Then the pills go down much easier.
Get a wedge to raise your head and upper body to sleep. I kept sliding down off of it so I also had a smaller wedge under my knees.
I took Ambien to sleep. It really helped.
During the day I took oxy and vicadin to cope with the pain and just the thought of having cancer. The days ticked by but I am generally a weak person and I still got it done.
Small goals and baby steps baby steps baby steps. Feel a little tiny bit better each day and before long you realize that you feel a ton better.
Jim

Hi Jim
Amazing story glad you made it, I too hate the cold weather especially when I had to get up to get treatment early in the morning. Like you said we have to make changes and take baby steps but in the end when it is all over it sure feels so go to be free again.

Wishing you well my friend
Hondo