My Vocal Cord Cancer Tx Update and Progress

vkelly
vkelly Member Posts: 8
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Hi All,

3 weeks of treatment complete with 4 more weeks to go. Unfortunately this upcoming week on Tuesday is round two of chemotherapy (Cisplatin)which makes me feel lousy for 4 to 5 Days.

Good news is treatment must be working because just over the last week my voice started coming back little bit so I am pretty happy with that development, Also happy to report appetite still good and my weight staying steady

Bad News also starting this past week , I experience extreme pain like piece of glass in my throat anytime I swallow. this is one of the side effects of radiation to the throat area, and something I will just have to deal until treatment is over and it all heals up. Doc prescribed magic mouthwash which helps

Peace,
Vic

Comments

  • Jimbo55
    Jimbo55 Member Posts: 590 Member
    #2
    Good Progress
    Vic, sounds pretty good so far. Have to agree with you, that chemotherapy is nothing to look forward to. Keeping your weight up is a good sign. Stay strong. Cheers

    Jimbo
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #3
    Been There....
    Along with several others....

    Just stay positive and realize you are nearly over the hump treatment wise...you close to the downhill slide now.

    Throat will be messed up even for a few weeks post rads. But at least once you are finished with the rads, you're on your way to healing.

    For me once I hit around week five or so, even though I had a few more weeks of rads and a few weeks after that, the pain never really got any worse...it kind of plateaued for me.

    Keep Up the Great Work...

    Best,
    John
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #4
    one day at a time
    at the risk of sounding trite....

    I'm just a bit ahead of you. Three more sessions to go and I'm cooked:) Well, figuratively, at least. Just keep going. It will end sooner than you think. My mouth is pretty sore right now. Kept my weight up pretty well. In fact, though I've lost a bit lately, I'm still UP ten pounds since the start of chemotherapy. Gained a bunch during chemo, because as the tumor shrank I found I could actually swallow again.

    Best to you.

    Pat
  • vkelly
    vkelly Member Posts: 8
    #5
    longtermsurvivor said:

    one day at a time
    at the risk of sounding trite....

    I'm just a bit ahead of you. Three more sessions to go and I'm cooked:) Well, figuratively, at least. Just keep going. It will end sooner than you think. My mouth is pretty sore right now. Kept my weight up pretty well. In fact, though I've lost a bit lately, I'm still UP ten pounds since the start of chemotherapy. Gained a bunch during chemo, because as the tumor shrank I found I could actually swallow again.

    Best to you.

    Pat

    My Sincerest Gratitude
    I want thank everyone on this board that reached out me from the bottom of my heart! When I was first diagnosed and came to this forum I was scared sh!tless wondering whether I would live let alone be able to speak or work again, Not knowing what to expect during Tx, You all gave me encouragmemt, advice and most importantly a sense hope. I Had 2nd chemo today and now I can swallow without pain and my voice a still good , Dr says I can expect these fluctuations in side effects due to the amount of radiation I am receiving to the throat area.

    I never was a very religious person but now I thank god, my medical team , the technology and family and friends that have supported me. (there are some friends and family however that dont call, write or visit, i guess they are scared or just dont know what to say :(

    I feel kind of guilty sharing these positive developements after reading the struggles most of you have endured, but I hope my experiences will give some one else that has been newly diagnosed a sense of hope as well, I know I am only half way thru TX and hope i havent spoke to soon, I know I still have a long road ahead but I am fairly certain I can beat the beast now, hopefully without any major life long side effects


    Sincerly,
    Vic
  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #6
    vkelly said:

    My Sincerest Gratitude
    I want thank everyone on this board that reached out me from the bottom of my heart! When I was first diagnosed and came to this forum I was scared sh!tless wondering whether I would live let alone be able to speak or work again, Not knowing what to expect during Tx, You all gave me encouragmemt, advice and most importantly a sense hope. I Had 2nd chemo today and now I can swallow without pain and my voice a still good , Dr says I can expect these fluctuations in side effects due to the amount of radiation I am receiving to the throat area.

    I never was a very religious person but now I thank god, my medical team , the technology and family and friends that have supported me. (there are some friends and family however that dont call, write or visit, i guess they are scared or just dont know what to say :(

    I feel kind of guilty sharing these positive developements after reading the struggles most of you have endured, but I hope my experiences will give some one else that has been newly diagnosed a sense of hope as well, I know I am only half way thru TX and hope i havent spoke to soon, I know I still have a long road ahead but I am fairly certain I can beat the beast now, hopefully without any major life long side effects


    Sincerly,
    Vic

    Starting to believe, Cancer as the Matrix
    Congratulations Vic, as Kent Cass and Morpheus like to say, "you are starting to believe."
    You know now you can fight, have fought it, and it's no fun, but it is "doable." And when the world first gets turned insode out on you, it's very natural to wonder if you can ever get youself back to where you were. But now you're half-way through treatment, it's still hard to swallow, but you know you can finish, you know you can do it.

    It's a great thing to know, to believe, and it gives you strength to keep on moving on a still rocky road, and it gives you that hope that wasn't even in the picture when you started. Good for you, you're doing great.

    best, Hal
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #7
    vkelly said:

    My Sincerest Gratitude
    I want thank everyone on this board that reached out me from the bottom of my heart! When I was first diagnosed and came to this forum I was scared sh!tless wondering whether I would live let alone be able to speak or work again, Not knowing what to expect during Tx, You all gave me encouragmemt, advice and most importantly a sense hope. I Had 2nd chemo today and now I can swallow without pain and my voice a still good , Dr says I can expect these fluctuations in side effects due to the amount of radiation I am receiving to the throat area.

    I never was a very religious person but now I thank god, my medical team , the technology and family and friends that have supported me. (there are some friends and family however that dont call, write or visit, i guess they are scared or just dont know what to say :(

    I feel kind of guilty sharing these positive developements after reading the struggles most of you have endured, but I hope my experiences will give some one else that has been newly diagnosed a sense of hope as well, I know I am only half way thru TX and hope i havent spoke to soon, I know I still have a long road ahead but I am fairly certain I can beat the beast now, hopefully without any major life long side effects


    Sincerly,
    Vic

    Take a snapshot
    of what you are like right now. The rad side effects will change this for a bit. Right now, with 2 sessions to go, my tongue is pretty thick from treatment. My speech is so slurred I sound like an idiot. That's just acute phase swelling, and I know it will improve with time. Nothing I can do about it right now. And heck, I'm still swallowing enough calories/fluids to get by. You may or may not do this well. Whatever. It's important to keep your eyes on the horizon.

    BTW, I still have saliva. And I still have a sense of taste, faded though it may be. I had some sweet potato soup yesterday that wass actaully good. Although this may not make sense, because I''ve been clear through rads before and lost both taste and saliva then, it just hasn't happend this time. So I'm proof you can't put expectation in front of this treatment.

    Best to you.

    Pat
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #8
    vkelly said:

    My Sincerest Gratitude
    I want thank everyone on this board that reached out me from the bottom of my heart! When I was first diagnosed and came to this forum I was scared sh!tless wondering whether I would live let alone be able to speak or work again, Not knowing what to expect during Tx, You all gave me encouragmemt, advice and most importantly a sense hope. I Had 2nd chemo today and now I can swallow without pain and my voice a still good , Dr says I can expect these fluctuations in side effects due to the amount of radiation I am receiving to the throat area.

    I never was a very religious person but now I thank god, my medical team , the technology and family and friends that have supported me. (there are some friends and family however that dont call, write or visit, i guess they are scared or just dont know what to say :(

    I feel kind of guilty sharing these positive developements after reading the struggles most of you have endured, but I hope my experiences will give some one else that has been newly diagnosed a sense of hope as well, I know I am only half way thru TX and hope i havent spoke to soon, I know I still have a long road ahead but I am fairly certain I can beat the beast now, hopefully without any major life long side effects


    Sincerly,
    Vic

    Cancer ~ Faith - Family & Friends
    One thing that the fear of death will certainly revive in a lot is jump start Faith if you been a little lacking through the years.

    Like you and a lot of us have found, being Dx will sometimes clarify who your true friends and family are, and which you know you can rely and count on.

    But, some like you say, just don't know enough or how to reachout. Even myself when first Dx and probably like a lot. When I heard cancer, I thought of pale, frail, sickly no hair, skinnt old people withering away to die.... Boy was I wrong, and am I ever grateful for that.

    If you have to have been Dx with cancer...between teechnology and education/knowledge, this is the bext time ever to have cancer. Success rates are awesome, Tx plans are improving rapidly...life is good.

    If nothing else, it opens your eyes to things in your life that are most important, and the little things that aren't so much.

    Never feel guilty of your successes with treatment.... That's why a lot of us remain, to try and make it easier for those newbies. Not taking anything away from you and your own body, will, attitude and whatever gets you through.

    Best,
    John

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