Week 6 post radiation. Tried solid food today.

Bob Watt
Bob Watt Member Posts: 60 Member
edited May 2017 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

First up a small meat ball. Then at teatime a carrot and sausage with gravy. Hoping this is the beginning of a return to some kind of normalcy.

Comments

  • Captain Australia
    Captain Australia Member Posts: 21
    edited May 2017 #2
    You're doing great

    Hi Mate

    For many, mucositis is a huge obstacle to eating - it's one of the more common side-effects of head & neck chemo-radiation, and the patient aggregate for recovery from mucositis is around 8-12 weeks.  (For some folks it lasts much longer).

    For my part, I became PEG-tube dependant for about a month - and only started taking the formula by mouth .. probably around week 8 after treatment.  A week or so after that, I graduated to soup-in-a-cup, then to stews, poached eggs, that kind of thing.
    I think when you're starting to experimentally eat different things (and succeeding in at least some cases), that means you're on the right path .. for me from that point forward every week has gotten better. 
    But performance-wise you're ahead of where I was, so that might mean you'll enjoy even more rapid progress.
    Hang in there, keep trying to eat, sounds like you're doing great.

  • Chicklette
    Chicklette Member Posts: 225
    edited May 2017 #3
    Awesome!

    One day and one meatball at a time.  :)  My husband is almost done with week 3 of treatment and it starting to show signs of mucousitis and is having trouble swallowing large pills.  (However, today he told me he had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for lunch, so I think that's pretty good for a guy going into his fouth week of radiation).  I've been reading this board for several months and what I have learned is everyone reacts differently and everyone recovers at a different pace.  Seems to me that you are on the right track!  :)

  • Andy13460
    Andy13460 Member Posts: 115
    #4
    Solid foods

    We have no choice in Ireland they go the whole way without feeding tubes & they tell me they dont expect weight loss during treatment!!!!

    Ive just done radiation 12, saliva is still working, taste is just about gone and thats 1/3 of the way in so it should get interesting.

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