Travel after rad/chemo BOT cancer treatment

I had 35 rads with 8 weeks of Erbitux in the Spring of 2016.  I felt worse, for a while, AFTER the treatment was over.  I had a PEG at the time and ended up using it.  I would not have wanted to travel within the first few weeks BUT everone is different.  

You don't mention what the travel would entail nor what type of medical facilities are available once you arrive.   That may make a difference in how others reply to your question.

Best of luck to both of you.

Jan

I think he will find that treatment comes with many side-effects that pose serious problems to health and comfort.  I think many of us go in standing tall and confident that we will weather the storm, and come out on our knees grateful to have survived and be done.

  I was scheduled to finish treatment in late December, and was very confident at the start that I would catch spring skiing in Aspen in March, and be touring Europe in April.  Instead I was just starting to be able to eat whole food in March, and was beginning to be comfortable about maybe visiting family in Aspen in April (I live in Colorado, it's a three hour drive to Aspen, my daughter lives in 'down-valley, poor folk' Aspen)).  I made to Aspen and was finally able to start normal physical activity by June, by September was regularly, but cautiously, doing things at the lower edge of my old normal.

I've been told I am having a good recovery, mostly free of complications; visit here a few times and you'll read more than a few stories from people where that is not the case.  But, grim as that seems I am now 40 pounds lighter, and hit the rec center at least twice a week.  I missed skiing in '17, but I now intend to do what it takes to be able to do it into my 80s.  Last week my ENT visit confirmed once again that the tumor is gone.  I've made it thru Year One.  Trust me, the actual experience will change expectations.

Everyone is different. In our personal experience, there would have been no way. My husband couldn't even get out of bed for 7 weeks post treatment except for doctor visits. We are taking our first 3 day trip, a 3 hour drive, at 17 weeks post treatment.

AnotherSurvivor said:

I think he will find that

I think he will find that treatment comes with many side-effects that pose serious problems to health and comfort.  I think many of us go in standing tall and confident that we will weather the storm, and come out on our knees grateful to have survived and be done.

  I was scheduled to finish treatment in late December, and was very confident at the start that I would catch spring skiing in Aspen in March, and be touring Europe in April.  Instead I was just starting to be able to eat whole food in March, and was beginning to be comfortable about maybe visiting family in Aspen in April (I live in Colorado, it's a three hour drive to Aspen, my daughter lives in 'down-valley, poor folk' Aspen)).  I made to Aspen and was finally able to start normal physical activity by June, by September was regularly, but cautiously, doing things at the lower edge of my old normal.

I've been told I am having a good recovery, mostly free of complications; visit here a few times and you'll read more than a few stories from people where that is not the case.  But, grim as that seems I am now 40 pounds lighter, and hit the rec center at least twice a week.  I missed skiing in '17, but I now intend to do what it takes to be able to do it into my 80s.  Last week my ENT visit confirmed once again that the tumor is gone.  I've made it thru Year One.  Trust me, the actual experience will change expectations.

I think many of us go in standing tall and confident that we will weather the storm, and come out on our knees grateful to have survived and be done… Trust me, the actual experience will change expectations.

Very well said! ... And true, we often do not recover as quickly as we would like. I just finished 39 Tx pelvic rad earlier this month and thought I could eat anything by now. Sadly, not so.

Just my thoughts....

If you were going somewhere in the states I would say go for it. 

However, DR is not the states.  They just had a hurricane (or two).  I have gotten sick at one of the resorts in Punta Cana.  I, as a caretaker, would not feel comfortable taking my husband anywhere outside of the states, especially DR.  Their water isn't even potable.  It's not worth the risk. Rebook, go to Florida somewhere or even Hawaii.

My husband has this week with chemo and eight more radiation treatments to go.  He is awesome.  I have had not one complaint (well, there have been some minor complaints) in the past 6 weeks.  He is one strong guy.

We did cancel our trip to St Maarten this coming February 2018.  They got hit HARD with a hurricane and the island is not exactly up to par yet and problably wont be in February.  We have plenty of time ahead to plan a trip later in 2018.  American Airlines fully refunded our airfare due to my husbands sickness, not so much the hurricane.

Just remember everyone is different.  Different cancers, different drugs, different everything.  My husband was diagnoed with BOT SCC / HPV+.  7 weeks radiation/ 3 weeks chemo (cisplatin) plus 5 molars removed.  PEG because his tongue was so swollen before treatment we needed a way to get food into him, swallowing wasnt exactly easy at the time.  Now he is trying to get the swallowing back, even before treatment ends.  He really wants to eat again, but even this will take time which we both understand. 

I wish you both luck.  It will go by fast and I do hope without much incidence.  Take care.

umea,

Yes, be bold and plan for travel, but don’t forget the travel insurance.  There are a  lot of H&N members who at 1 week post wanted to be left alone.

He may not like normal food are you ready for that?

He may be in pain, are you ready for that?

He may have no energy, are you ready for that?

Reasonable jumped out the  window with your old husband, you are now dealing with fickled, and confused and a timeline which can be very slow.

Good luck,

Matt