My dad is about to start radiation/chemo for base tongue cancer....

AJG,

Welcome to the H&N forum, where you will  find many of us who were scared and in pretty good shape.

You are in the scary (unknown) phase right now, but it is not until you are in the thick of it (treatments) do you know how difficult it may be.

I was stage IVa, scc, bot, I lymph node, hpv+ (surgery, rads, Erbitux)

Any pain I had was readily treatable (no problem).  I did have a well-stocked arsenal, ready for anything side effects could throw at me.

I do find myself more fatigued then I once was, but if I put my mind and body into a project I usually make out fine.

Some H&N members breeze through other struggle every day.  It just depends on how well your Dad’s body adjusts to the side effects from treatment and how well he takes steps to combat issues as they arise.

Don’t expect to get all the worst side effect, because you more than likely will not.  Also, check out the Superthread for some light reading (you will learn a lot)

Matt

My husband, Jim had BOT stage 4 with to lymph nodes involved, non operables because of location and size. His biggest side effect was the mucous and still is. He slep alot. Jim was like your dad, he wanted to continue to work in the yard and go fishing. He did go through a short bout of depression (about one month after treatment) but once able to get active again he was fine. Still gets tired easily but he just turned 79 yrs old and it sounds as if your dad is younger. He had very little pain during and after treatment. He had a feeding tube inserted before treatment so he didn't have to eat by mouth so that probably helped alot. I am praying your dad has an easy time and gets back to work soon.

Debbie

When I was first diagnosed (Stage 3a, MEC, BOT) my wife and I sat through the typical "orientation" sessions with various doctors and nurses.  While none of them painted the chemo+rads treatments as a walk in the park, one nurse in particular scared the hell out of us with horrible predictions and graphic descriptions.  I had not found CSN yet, so that's pretty much all we knew at that time.  We left that meeting wondering who was going to provide me with the "accidental" overdose to end it all right then and there.  Once we got a grip on things, we came to call her the "Nurse of Doom" and decided to take things as they came, deal with them from a very positive outlook, and simply not allow ourselves and others around us to over-worry to a point of dysfunction.

While some of the Nurse of Doom's predictions did come true, and I experienced more than my fair share of bad side effects, 4+ years later I can say that I am in remission, and life after chemo+rads is pretty darn good.

You and your dad need to understand that attitude is everything right now and for the next year or so.  Your dad sounds like he is physically ready for this battle, so now focus on the mental part of it--that's what will get BOTH of you through this.  And, be sure to take care of yourself.  Fighting cancer is a team sport, and you need to be strong and healthy too.

Best of luck and visit here often--this is a great resource in many, many ways.

Mike

You just heard the worst case scenario.  I represent the other end.  With my BOT cancer, I worked all the way through rads, didn't get mouth sores, didn't require a feeding tube, and didn't have pain.  I was quite tired, and slept a whole bunch.  And I lost weight because food didn't taste good and my apetite went way down.  They typically build a "block" to protect your vocal cords from radiation when they radiate for BOT cancer, so I didn't lose my voice either.  Although, with lack of saliva, I  didn't talk a lot because it tended to make my tongue sore.

Everyone is different, that's true, but the odds favor he  will do fine.  This whole thing just has to be approached with an open mind, and a flexible attitude. 

best

Pat

AJG,

I too was very scared when my dad had to have chemo and radiation due to cancer of the sinuses.  I did not know what to expect and heard all sorts of horror stories... This is what I can tell you from my dad's experience, who was somewhat like your dad- a busy bee!

The first few weeks did not affect him a whole lot other than make him a little more tired.  Eventually close to the end of his treatment something I was terrified of was he lost appetite and couldn't eat.  I don't know if it was that he couldn't...or just didn't have the desire. I was so upset and scared, but he had to get a PEG tube.  Looking back as scared as I was, it was the best thing for him.  Without it, he lost energy and nutrition.  With it, he gained back some energy and some weight.  He is almost 3 months out of treatment and still has the PEG tube.  I was quite discouraged, but now he is eating a lot of foods and in the past few weeks has gained back a lot of energy.  It is important throughout treatment for your dad to keep  himself somewhat busy and from the sounds of it, he will be able to do that.  My dad is retired so working was not an issue-but he did go out, drive himself to appts, and run errands. Since my dad's radiation targeted his sinus and lymph nodes, it did not effect his ability to talk- but due to lack of saliva he did not talk near as much as he used to.  I was also afraid of depression, but if he has support- which it seems like he does, hopefully he will do fine.  My dad went to the James Cancer at OSU, which is one of the best and there were nurses who would talk to him daily to determine if he was feeling depressed or anxious.  There were medications to help with anxiety.  What I'm trying to say, is that it is a very scary thing to have a loved one go through this, but it is doable.  Im sure many of the people on here will share their experiences, some who probably had the same type of cancer. One thing I can also tell you is that each person is different.  I will be praying for your dad,  you, and your family.  As scary as it is, just try to think positive.

P.S. See my update post in the forum.  It goes to show you with todays medicine and technology- good things can come of this!  If you need to talk feel free to msg me!