Chat to specialist

jackflash22
jackflash22 Member Posts: 524 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

I had a good chat with my 'Wednesday' specialist at the Churchill hospital yesterday. I feel a lot better about the rad /mask. I have the usual neck cancer SCC. They will give me strong rad on the right side of my neck and tongue and lighter strength the left side. I had 3 Cancerous nodes removed along with 29 other down to my jawline. the tongue tumour was near the edge of the margin so they feel that I should have that zapped. they discussed chemo but didn't think I'd benefit from it. my treatment will take ten minutes each day, once I've been positioned and the mask put on. doesn't sound such a big deal as I first thought. I see this specialist each Wed to say how the treatment is affecting me and will be given any medication needed. I asked if he thought I would be cured and he laughed and said if they didn't think that I was curable they wouldn't be giving me all this expensive treatment. I'm opting for hospital transport as the parking is terrible, out of 6 car parks not one space was to be had, my granddaughter, who drove me there had to circle around for half an hour then we had to park where we shouldn't have but got desperate. we got away with it this time but if this is the case every day then I'm better of with the round robin hospital ambulance bus which will drop me at the main door. I start rad next Wed, the sooner I get started the sooner  it will be finished the last one is 29th Oct. I'm glad I took your advise and made an app't to talk things through its put my mind at ease.

Comments

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #2
    Wonderful!!

    Not only does getting started sooner get you done faster, but there's something that happens to a person when they actively start fighting the battle....they get stronger, and they KNOW they are doing something to combat the beast.

    Glad you don't have to wait much longer.

    p

  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #3
    jf, i'm glad u feel much

    jf, i'm glad u feel much better since ur discussion.  now u r ready to give it HELL!  eat as much as u can, drink lots of water, stay strong and KICK BUTT!!  we're all here cheering u on.  can't wait for u to ring the bell and dance around the kitchen.  go get'm!!

    dj

  • donfoo
    donfoo Member Posts: 1,773 Member
    #4
    good info

    Hi Jackie,

    Glad you had that consultation with the doctors. If you can contact them, ask about the chemo given along with the radiation treatments. Say you read that chemo acts as a radiosynthesizer for the radiation. From my time here, a pretty signficant of rads are given with some form of platinum based chemo drug, either cisplatin or carboplatin, administered weekly or every 3 weeks. Good luck! don

  • jackflash22
    jackflash22 Member Posts: 524 Member
    #5
    donfoo said:

    good info

    Hi Jackie,

    Glad you had that consultation with the doctors. If you can contact them, ask about the chemo given along with the radiation treatments. Say you read that chemo acts as a radiosynthesizer for the radiation. From my time here, a pretty signficant of rads are given with some form of platinum based chemo drug, either cisplatin or carboplatin, administered weekly or every 3 weeks. Good luck! don

    chemo

    I did ask about chemo, they said they had discussed my case  at their board meeting but decided I wouldn't benifit from it, that rad was enough. I was checked over again as I thought I could feel a hard swelling under my ear at the end of the scar he said it was scar tissue hope he's right. He also looked inside my mouth as I have two sore places where I bite my cheek, I bite myself in my sleep, I've always had this problem not all the time but since the op the inside of my mouth has thickened with scar tissue. I've been wearing a guard the last two nights and it helped. I also have been holding a teaspoon of Manuka active honey +24 in my mouth for a few minutes, its not so sore this morning. I am worried that if I have sores before I start rad what may they be like once I start.

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