One week post treatment!

ByeByeCancer
ByeByeCancer Member Posts: 54 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

My husband is one week post treatment (35 radiations plus 8 Erbitux for Stage IV BOT SCC HPV+) today!  He is doing pretty well.  The only thing that seemed to continue to "cook" was the skin on his neck.  That got pretty red for a few days this week. He is putting on Aquaphor but is convinced that it is making the skin there more sensitive? 

He still has some mucous,  but it isn't terrible.  I think we got a bit lucky in that department.  He also seems to have some saliva left too.  Not a ton...but there is some there.   The side of the neck with the tumor was getting stronger radiation than the other side, so maybe the saliva glands on the other side were spared. 

He is not experiencing much pain, but still drinks most of his food.  Smoothies, Ensure Enlive, etc.  He says food just doesn't sound good so he'd rather just drink it.  If anyone has any suggestions for foods to try, let me know. I'm thinking maybe something that appeals to the nose since the taste buds are fried?  His weight is okay. He lost 15 pounds through the ordeal (no PEG), but he had about that to spare.  

Let me know if anyone has suggestions on how to get someone interested in food when they can't taste it.:(  He says he is going to get so fat when he can taste food again.  He misses eating!

 

:)

 

Comments

  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    edited November 2017 #2
    For me, the first things I

    For me, the first things I started eating were; potato soup (homemade and very liquidy), apple sauce (loved the coldness), yogurt (some of the fruits were very tasty), those prepackaged minced up fruit mixes (from WalMart, similar to GoGurt in a pouch - very good and more flavor than apple sauce), Ramen noodles (the noodles slide down very fast and it was filling), also started drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast instead of Boost for breakfast.

    For me, I drank water all day to aid in non-food swallowing. However, when it came to eating I'd always take a drink of whole milk after every bite. It really helped the food go down and added extra calories while coating my throat so it didn't feel so bad.

    I was eating whatever I wanted by about 5 week out. (no PEG either for me)

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #3
    eat this

    BBC,

    I would not worry about his eating as long as he is getting the calories and nutrition he needs.  Food in general was not appealing for a time post.  I was always sampling things, all the time. BUT, the physical act of eating was low priority.

    He will come around.

    Matt

  • christine2080
    christine2080 Member Posts: 71
    #4
    Great news!Can’t wait to join you on the other side of treatment

    Two more days and we will be working on recovery too! My husband‘s neck is causing him quite a bit of pain. We were using Aquaphor, but he hated the way it felt on his neck and didn’t think it was helping. We are now putting a prescription cream on his neck twice a day. His neck already looks better.

    As for eating, I bought a cookbook on Amazon that says to appeal to the sense of smell. The recipes are pretty labor intense, but I will be happy to share the ones I’ve tried with you. I would be thrilled if I could just ge my husband to drink more than one Ensure a day!

    The recipe for Magic Mineral Broth is worth making (IMHO). It doesn’t have many calories, but is rich in minerals as the name implies! I use it to thin soups. It also adds depth of flavor. The recipes in the cookbook seem to roast most veggies for soup in the oven to bring out more flavor. I roasted cauliflower last night & my husband actually managed to eat a few bites and could keep it down.

  • Sdthornh
    Sdthornh Member Posts: 1
    #5
    Post Radiation neck and lip

    ive done 22 of 30 treatments with 4 each of the next two weeks (Thanksgiving off) and am planning/ seed for a cruise leaving 4 days after last treatment. If it were today I would go! I am still not too fatigued and although picky with food I am maintains calories and my weight - we wouldn’t want that lovely mask to not fit tight tight tight 

  • Dean54
    Dean54 Member Posts: 160 Member
    edited November 2017 #6
    Awesome ByeByeCancer. I just

    Awesome ByeByeCancer. I just finished my treatments last Fri and am so glad it's over. Having trouble swallowing but that's about it. Let's get back to normal!

  • ByeByeCancer
    ByeByeCancer Member Posts: 54 Member
    #7
    Dean54 said:

    Awesome ByeByeCancer. I just

    Awesome ByeByeCancer. I just finished my treatments last Fri and am so glad it's over. Having trouble swallowing but that's about it. Let's get back to normal!

    I wish we could "like" posts

    I wish we could "like" posts on here!  Glad to hear that you are finished too! :)

  • johnsonbl
    johnsonbl Member Posts: 266 Member
    #8
    Aquaphor

    Aquaphor is awfully thick and greasy...  Good stuff but yes I'd agree that it might not help much if the skin is already super pissed.  I used mostly Eucerin Skin Repair lotion...goes on thinner and worked really well.

    As far as food goes...this is the perfect time of year to recover from this.  Mashed potatoes and gravy, soft stuffing, sweet potatoes, more gravy...  :-)

  • Andy13460
    Andy13460 Member Posts: 115
    #9
    3 Weeks

    Think about stuff after 3 weeks otherwise think of it as treatment is still going on. Liquid food is good after 3 weeks things should start to improve. I still think most of it is down to whats in your head Ive fought tooth and nail to not be a victim of this thing and I will never let it get the better of me. 

  • MrsYo
    MrsYo Member Posts: 11
    #10
    Focus on calories while taste is absent...

    As a caregiver, I shift the focus on monitoring and supporting efforts to maintain the recommended calorie intake and water consumption to stay hydrated.  Fruit smoothies with protein whey is the best.  Keep a bag of frozen fruits (strawberry, peaches so tasty) add milk or orange juice, crushed ice and protein powder and blend away.  Can also have the Nutrition Team order a formula with high calories and add it to smoothies.  Hope this helps.  Best wishes!

Discussion Boards