Treatment Underway

MindOverMatter
MindOverMatter Member Posts: 13
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hi everyone. 

  I wanted to give an update on my status. After finally getting my PET scan approved by insurance, the results came back as a 48 year old male HPV SCC stage 1 T2/N0/M0.  I was able to catch this early because I had a growth off my tonsil that I could feel in the back of my throat and so I went to the ENT.  So they had me consult with the radiation oncologist and the radiation oncologist set up a treatement plan of 7 weeks of daily treatment Monday - Friday on a RapidArc IMRT machine for a total of 70 gray and are only treating one side of my neck. I also saw the oncologist and she said that she didn't think Chemo would be that beneficial at this point with my diagnosis. The radiologist didn't think I needed the feeding tube since I was only getting radiation on one side and no chemo.   So next I had the mask made, the material seemed to have a bit of flex to it so it didn't seem to confining.  Today I had my first treatment, not to bad, just some sunburn like throbbing on my neck, but I know these are the early easy days. I also visited the nutritionist and she recommened I consume 120-160 grams of protein a day.  I thought that seemed a little high as normal protein consumption was around 60 grams a day.

Thanks for listening.
Steve
Mind over Matter
 

Comments

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #2
    start me up

    Steve,

    I have gathered that you are a 48 year old male with good insurance and a treatment plan which satisfies you and your doctors. Your mask has some flex, but I would not take advantage of that and move  around, you might start something.  Today was the beginning of rads and was very doable.  Your nutritionist gave you a recommendation on protein and here you are, day 1 complete.  A few more of these days and you will be finished.  Good luck and welcome  to our club.

    Matt

  • MindOverMatter
    MindOverMatter Member Posts: 13
    #3
    Dry Mouth

    Hi Matt,

      Got my first night in and that was a little rougher than I expected.  Woke up at 1 am with my mouth feeling like the Sahara desert. I just learned my first lesson, hydrate even in the middle of th night.

     

    Steve

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #4
    dry mouth, well I'll be.

    Steve,

    Say it isn’t so, dry mouth, day one, night one, Sahara desert?  You just could not wait for week 2, 3 or 4.  Well, did you mix up a ½ gallon to a gallon of the salt, soda and water mixture?  This is used to rinse out your mouth and keep it clean.  It has  some other beneficial qualities, but I don’t want  to give everything away (yet).  Others may chime in.

    Drink lots of water and swallow often and you can join Matt’s Club of drinking lots of water and swallowing often. IT IS IMPORTANT!!!  Maybe, not bold and underline important, but just as important as having car insurance.

    Have a nice 2nd night and be double ready.

    Matt

  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    #5
    Get through it and it will

    Get through it and it will all be good. I'm a 47 year old male and I'm 6 months post treatment for stage 3 SCC Base of Tongue with neck node involvement. I'm already back to 100% and have been for a couple of months (minus some saliva).

    Treatment is going to get bad - really bad. But, thousands of people have already successfully walked the path you now find yourself on.

    You'll be surprised when it's over how fast time went by.

    Stay calm during the side effects (they are nasty) and focus on tomorrow. Staying active helped me a lot. Activity fought off my fatigue, neuropathy, lymphedema and more.

    If have any questions, shoot me a private message.

  • Charmit
    Charmit Member Posts: 87
    #6
    Hello you seem to be in the

    Hello you seem to be in the start of the god awful process as me. How are you managing??? I’m sacred to death my first treatments start April 30 and as I type that my heart is racing a mile a minute!!!

  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    #7
    Charmit said:

    Hello you seem to be in the

    Hello you seem to be in the start of the god awful process as me. How are you managing??? I’m sacred to death my first treatments start April 30 and as I type that my heart is racing a mile a minute!!!

    Enjoy the next few weeks.

    Enjoy the next few weeks. Most people don't experience any real negative side effects from radiation until about week 4 or 5. Some people react badly to chemo. I did the 3 mega doses of Cisplatin. Chemo didn't effect me badly. I never threw-up. I did sleep a lot. That said, i drank TONS of water for 3-days prior to chemo and for 3-days after. I also made sure to hit 2,000-3,000 calories EVERY DAY. This is crucial to feeling well during treatment.


  • MindOverMatter
    MindOverMatter Member Posts: 13
    #8
    First 5 Days Done - With only minor side effects as expected

    Thanks everyone for all of your responses, much appreciated. Completed my 5th treatment today.  My only side effects so far have been dry mouth and some nausea.  For the dry mouth I bought the biotene mouth gel and spray.  Both seem to work equally well, but they only last 4-5 hours so I often wake up and take a second dose around 4-5 am. I bought some of the XyliMelts tablets that you stick to your molar, so I'm going to try those tonight.  For the nausea I have been drinking ginger tea with real ginger. That seems to be working for the nausea so far.  I'm still working and my days are really hectic meeting after meeting so time goes by fast. I think I would go crazy if I had to just sit around all day.  Lucky for me I work from home so I don't have to deal with leaving the house except for radiation treatments.  I think I'm getting used to the mask now and I'm really able to relax during the treatements.  I started my treatment on a Wednesday and will end on Wednesday June 6th.  I had to laugh when I looked at the calendar and and saw June 6th was labeled as D-day.  Hopefully that will be the day my cancer has officailly been defeated.  Like so many have said, take one day at a time and educate yourself by reading everyone's posts.  This place is a goldmine  for real world advice from people who have lived through what some of us are going through now. 

      Steve

    Mind Over Matter  -

      

     

  • Charmit
    Charmit Member Posts: 87
    #9
    MindOverMatter said:

    First 5 Days Done - With only minor side effects as expected

    Thanks everyone for all of your responses, much appreciated. Completed my 5th treatment today.  My only side effects so far have been dry mouth and some nausea.  For the dry mouth I bought the biotene mouth gel and spray.  Both seem to work equally well, but they only last 4-5 hours so I often wake up and take a second dose around 4-5 am. I bought some of the XyliMelts tablets that you stick to your molar, so I'm going to try those tonight.  For the nausea I have been drinking ginger tea with real ginger. That seems to be working for the nausea so far.  I'm still working and my days are really hectic meeting after meeting so time goes by fast. I think I would go crazy if I had to just sit around all day.  Lucky for me I work from home so I don't have to deal with leaving the house except for radiation treatments.  I think I'm getting used to the mask now and I'm really able to relax during the treatements.  I started my treatment on a Wednesday and will end on Wednesday June 6th.  I had to laugh when I looked at the calendar and and saw June 6th was labeled as D-day.  Hopefully that will be the day my cancer has officailly been defeated.  Like so many have said, take one day at a time and educate yourself by reading everyone's posts.  This place is a goldmine  for real world advice from people who have lived through what some of us are going through now. 

      Steve

    Mind Over Matter  -

      

     

    God Bless Steve I’m glad your

    God Bless Steve I’m glad your one week down!!! And I will pray each week till June 6th you stay well and come out the winner!! My first week starts next Monday April 30th last day June 18th six days before my 49th Birthday....

     

    God Bless

    Charlene

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