To tube or not to tube....

Guzzle said:

Useful

Hondo all I can do is run around like a fool. Even this will be halted for a while. You can fix things so you are a skilled and useful man. When something breaks we all need a person like you and cancer has not taken this away. What is it you work on mate? I am hopeless at anything like that!

All , just recieved a scam mail on this site from a Mrs Susan Davies who claims to be from Cape Verde and gos on about inheritance 8 million dollars blah blah blah. I posted a thread but it has been taken down. What sort of creature would attempt this on a community such as this! Be aware. I know you will all be to wise to engage with this type of crook. Regards. G.

Aussieuke said:

If you can't run ,Walk!

I am now 17 months post the last Rad. Mid March last year had the tube removed after tonsils removed(mid August 2012) and finding right one was the primary carcinoma giving me enlarged lymph node. There are times when you don't want to eat,just sleep or do nothing.The early days of treatment and then recovery gradually increased in pain to swallow but then tappered off .Take those pain killers if you can .Drugged to the eyeballs is better than all than tiring pain.Got through all this because the oncologist reccomended the tube from the begining and apart from the initial discomfort and the odd time when fingers let slip, the only great nuisance was the lack of or over the top flavours of the you buet bottles of gunk! to use as food.So, if faced with the choice ,most definitly get the tube first before things go hard .Get used to using it and at the end you will be able to keep your weight and with lots of walking keep your core strength at a usable level.The reply was in relation to running which is not always possible .I took the opertunity to go every day to our local mall which is just under a kilometer long.Being air conditioned doing two or three laps at your own pace made for a nice break from home.Your strength may not all come back, but it does help, as does the chance to talk with friends etc as you walk.Occasionally, mixed in with the Heart Health walkers if I got there in the early morning but since most would retire to the coffe outlet and my throat was still not accommodating hot drinks(apart from a large double icecream ,full cream milk thick shake with double flavouring) would opt for another pass of the shops.The only small leftover is the second belly button and for women this could be off putting if still in favour of bikinis! Might require a little bit of cosmetic surgery and all should be ok.We still do the walking and just yesterday was up for a hospital visit for the old carotids review. The lift was slow so opted to do the 5 floors via the stairs.Just made it ! legs getting fatigued at the last 2 floors but 12 months ago would not have made 2 flights at all.So, walk as much as you can and build up to running if you must.Eat all you can because the rads and the chemo will waste your bodies resources unmercifully.Keep up your strenght and through that drug haze KEEP POSITIVE!

thanks mate. Off for the mask and dentist today.

Mikemetz said:

Think of it as an umbrella

When the weather forecast is 50/50 for rain and I am leaving the house, asking myself, "Do I take my umbrella or not?".  My answer is "Self, it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."  I know that the procedure for inserting the tube is not as simple as grabbing your umbrella, but if you were to need a tube later on, that procedure would be even more complicated, and painful.  I got my PEG inserted in the nick of time, as my swelling was blocking the insertion of the vent needed for the operation.  As it was, it took them three tries.

So, for what it's worth, my advice is that unless your docs say it's 100% not needed, go ahead and have it inserted.  If you never need it--great, and the removal procedure is quick and easy.  If you do need it, then it will be extremely important to your feeding program.

mike

 

 

I am keeping my teeth! And I thought the mask fitting was strangely relaxing! Almost pleasant? Am I weird?