The end of treatment is just around the corner

VanessaSLO
VanessaSLO Member Posts: 283
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Hello everyone!
I decided to post a little update about my dad's treatment. To summarize again: He is SCC Base of tongue, stage 4. His treatment plan was 35 rads and 7 weekly Cisplatin chemo.

Well, treatment is coming to the end, only 5 more rads and 1 chemo!!! Oh, I'm soooooooo glad that soon it will be over. He is having hard times now with all the pain in his mouth. He eats liquid foods (soups, Prosure, milk), takes pain meds and anti nausea meds, sleeps every afternoon after he comes home from radiation. Overall he is doing pretty well. That's what his rad onc doctor said yesterday.
And what is the most important the doc said yesterday that his tumour on the base of tongue is not visible or touchable anymore!!! Also his lymph nodes are back to normal, the doctor said that they're probably all responding very well to treatment and you can't feel them anymore if you touch his neck. Yupeee!

So, he will finish his treatment next Wednesday and then he will have a check up a month after that. And of course then 3 months later.

His neck is red, burned and with some blisters on the side of the neck where that big lymph node was. But as I said, overall he is doing really good.

He was also hospitalized for 2 weeks because of dehydration - but nothing serious. He got some IV fluids which really helped him and he was very satisfied with that. He felt better when he was in the hospital because they cared about him really good.

He is a bit moody sometimes and nervous from all that pain, but it is normal....

Thank you for all your support, you're all wonderful people who are helping me a lot!

So, I wanted to post this for all who're going thru the same or are just about to begin with treatment. It is doable!!

Comments

  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006
    #2
    Doable
    Soon your dad will be finished and that is great; the rad burn will heal, his eating will improve and one day maybe not as quickly as what we like he will be back to normal, not the normal we all once knew, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Blessings to your dad on his continued recovery.

    Linda
  • VivianLee5689
    VivianLee5689 Member Posts: 546
    #3
    osmotar said:

    Doable
    Soon your dad will be finished and that is great; the rad burn will heal, his eating will improve and one day maybe not as quickly as what we like he will be back to normal, not the normal we all once knew, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Blessings to your dad on his continued recovery.

    Linda

    Thanks for the update
    Vanessa,
    Thanks for the update on your dad. I am glad your dad is near the end of his treatments and they seem to be working. I am sure everyone will be relieved when he comes out on the other side.
  • ToBeGolden
    ToBeGolden Member Posts: 695
    #4
    Hard Road
    It's a hard road but family and the healthcare team somehow pull us thru. Soon, it will all be in the past. Rick.
  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
    #5
    yes, doable!
    please tell your Dad that a lot of folks from N. America and elsewhere are pulling for him.
    blessings to your family from Ohio, USA.
  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    #6
    Awsome
    Vannessa,
    I'm so glad to hear your Father is almost done ! Do-able, what a cool term ! I like this one...and intend on using it more often. Blessing to you all, Katie
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #7
    blackswampboy said:

    yes, doable!
    please tell your Dad that a lot of folks from N. America and elsewhere are pulling for him.
    blessings to your family from Ohio, USA.

    OHIO...
    OK, I gotta ask....

    Where does BlackSwamp come into play considering you are from Ohio...just curious as I'm from Ohio as well...now living in Florida for many years.

    I might need to dig the thread out again about how you came up with your screen name.

    JG
  • ditto1
    ditto1 Member Posts: 660
    #8
    katenorwood said:

    Awsome
    Vannessa,
    I'm so glad to hear your Father is almost done ! Do-able, what a cool term ! I like this one...and intend on using it more often. Blessing to you all, Katie

    Count down to
    being finished, I know how I felt as I finished about a month ago, I have same dx as you father. So glad he is almost there and yes it does get better, my neck is now pain free and just slightly tanned but not burnt. Thoart better and energy getting better each day. So good luck as you all finish and your father is blessed to have you and your family on his side. I know caretakers are as important as any treatment they could give me..
  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
    #9
    Skiffin16 said:

    OHIO...
    OK, I gotta ask....

    Where does BlackSwamp come into play considering you are from Ohio...just curious as I'm from Ohio as well...now living in Florida for many years.

    I might need to dig the thread out again about how you came up with your screen name.

    JG

    hey there. That would be the
    hey there. That would be the Great Black Swamp of NW Ohio. once so murky and impenetrable, not even the native tribes lived within its boundaries.
    my parents moved back to Ohio from SW Florida last month. Dad had a long assignment down there, but they never got used to the heat. or the burmese pythons. ;-)
    cheers, and good health.
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #10
    blackswampboy said:

    hey there. That would be the
    hey there. That would be the Great Black Swamp of NW Ohio. once so murky and impenetrable, not even the native tribes lived within its boundaries.
    my parents moved back to Ohio from SW Florida last month. Dad had a long assignment down there, but they never got used to the heat. or the burmese pythons. ;-)
    cheers, and good health.

    Black Swamp
    Wow, pretty cool, even though I lived in Toledo briefly as a kid, and visited Cedar Point in Sandusky nearly every summer... I don't think I ever remember of hearing of The Great Black Swamp...

    I'm going to have to investigate the history now...

    Thanks fellow Buckeye....

    Yep, the pythons are taking over down south....

    JG
  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #11
    ditto1 said:

    Count down to
    being finished, I know how I felt as I finished about a month ago, I have same dx as you father. So glad he is almost there and yes it does get better, my neck is now pain free and just slightly tanned but not burnt. Thoart better and energy getting better each day. So good luck as you all finish and your father is blessed to have you and your family on his side. I know caretakers are as important as any treatment they could give me..

    Yes!
    I recall when you came to this site, seems like just the other day and now your Dad is finishing tx. Wishing your family many blessings from the USA.
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #12
    good report
    VanessaSLO,

    Nice to hear he is so close and doing so fine. It must have something to do with his superior care. I use to nap after treatment too; good sleep was one thing that stayed with me the whole time. If the neck burn gets bad try Silver Sulfadiazine Cream.

    Best,

    Matt
  • VanessaSLO
    VanessaSLO Member Posts: 283
    #13
    CivilMatt said:

    good report
    VanessaSLO,

    Nice to hear he is so close and doing so fine. It must have something to do with his superior care. I use to nap after treatment too; good sleep was one thing that stayed with me the whole time. If the neck burn gets bad try Silver Sulfadiazine Cream.

    Best,

    Matt

    Thanx to all of you!
    It's great to read your comforting and encouraging words! My mom just can't believe how supportive you all are when I translate her your posts.

    Yes, time is passing really fast... At first we thought tx will never start but now it's almost finished. Today he has his last Cisplatin. He is pretty tired, yes. Especially because ambulance car drives him 80 miles one way each day. And in that car there're some other people who go to chemo or rads so when my dad is finished he sometimes must wait for other patients and that is very exhausting. That's why he was hospitalized for 2 weeks (and due to dehydration) so that he did not have to drive so far.
  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #14
    VanessaSLO said:

    Thanx to all of you!
    It's great to read your comforting and encouraging words! My mom just can't believe how supportive you all are when I translate her your posts.

    Yes, time is passing really fast... At first we thought tx will never start but now it's almost finished. Today he has his last Cisplatin. He is pretty tired, yes. Especially because ambulance car drives him 80 miles one way each day. And in that car there're some other people who go to chemo or rads so when my dad is finished he sometimes must wait for other patients and that is very exhausting. That's why he was hospitalized for 2 weeks (and due to dehydration) so that he did not have to drive so far.

    Interesting
    Interesting that they have an ambulance to take patients 80 miles to and from tx. Nothing like that here, at least not that I know of. That 160 miles a day would become exhausting in itself. I was very fortunate that the hospital where I had my surgery had a branch 1 block from my house where I received my radiation and chemo. If I had the energy, I could have walked to and from tx, of course, I didn't have the energy. Glad that long trip is behind your Dad and he can stay home and start his recovery. God Bless!
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #15
    Awesome News....
    He's a fighter and definitely will prevail..., but you already knew that right...

    He's lucky to have you as a care giver...without someone like you, it's very hard.

    Thoughts, Prayers, Hopes and Dreams,
    John
  • VanessaSLO
    VanessaSLO Member Posts: 283
    #16
    hwt said:

    Interesting
    Interesting that they have an ambulance to take patients 80 miles to and from tx. Nothing like that here, at least not that I know of. That 160 miles a day would become exhausting in itself. I was very fortunate that the hospital where I had my surgery had a branch 1 block from my house where I received my radiation and chemo. If I had the energy, I could have walked to and from tx, of course, I didn't have the energy. Glad that long trip is behind your Dad and he can stay home and start his recovery. God Bless!

    Yes
    Yes, the ambulance takes patients no matter where they live. It is covered by our insurance (in our country) that everyone who gets chemo/radiation has the right for ambulance transport. Even if you live really close. But if you decide to drive on your own you can demant reimbursement of costs.

    Now dad has 4 more rads to go... He finishes next Wednesday.
  • Tim6003
    Tim6003 Member Posts: 1,514 Member
    #17
    VanessaSLO said:

    Yes
    Yes, the ambulance takes patients no matter where they live. It is covered by our insurance (in our country) that everyone who gets chemo/radiation has the right for ambulance transport. Even if you live really close. But if you decide to drive on your own you can demant reimbursement of costs.

    Now dad has 4 more rads to go... He finishes next Wednesday.

    Hi Vanessa...
    Wonderful news on your dad. You be sure and tell him I was base of tongue as well and our treatments are very similar (I did not have Cispalian, did I spell that correctly?) I only had Erbitux and radiation. My neck was pretty burned (see the picture on my expressions page).

    Tell your mom and dad they are part of our speical family now (so they are stuck with us) :)

    I hear your country is beautiful! I had a friend in the hotel business who lived in your country and went home every Christmas, but for the life of me I can't remember the city he lived in.

    If your dad and mom are ever up for a trip to beautiful Idaho....be sure and tell them I have a room for them and would be honored to sit and tell war stories with your dad and how we survived treatments. I mean that sincerely. I have yet to meet a fellow survior (even though I tell John - skiffin we have great fishing up here too.

    Best,

    Tim
  • VanessaSLO
    VanessaSLO Member Posts: 283
    #18
    Tim6003 said:

    Hi Vanessa...
    Wonderful news on your dad. You be sure and tell him I was base of tongue as well and our treatments are very similar (I did not have Cispalian, did I spell that correctly?) I only had Erbitux and radiation. My neck was pretty burned (see the picture on my expressions page).

    Tell your mom and dad they are part of our speical family now (so they are stuck with us) :)

    I hear your country is beautiful! I had a friend in the hotel business who lived in your country and went home every Christmas, but for the life of me I can't remember the city he lived in.

    If your dad and mom are ever up for a trip to beautiful Idaho....be sure and tell them I have a room for them and would be honored to sit and tell war stories with your dad and how we survived treatments. I mean that sincerely. I have yet to meet a fellow survior (even though I tell John - skiffin we have great fishing up here too.

    Best,

    Tim

    Hey Tim
    Thank you for your warm words. My parents were really touched by your invitation to Idaho... They just can't believe that there could be such warm people out there, so far, over the Atlantic, who care and pray for you! And believe me, I would love to meet you and all wonderful people on this board - because this board is like second family! I was once in US with my husband, but in New York only. I would love to see other coutries even more!

    And I'm warmly inviting you and your family and of course everyone who reads this forum to come to Slovenia because it is a small peace of heaven on Earth too.

    But it's good to know that I can at least come to this forum and find comfort and support, even though I can't see you for real. God bless you all!

    Btw, only 3 more rads for my dad!!! His skin is burning, but he is handling and taking care of it pretty well, even though it hurts like hell. He had his last chemo on Thursday and since then he feels better emotionally because he knows it was his last. So today he ate a lot of creamy soup. He mostly eats soups all day. He lost about 12-15kg (maybe 30 lbs) from the begining of dx.
    He takes Emend (anti nausea drug) which helps a lot.

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