72 yr old facing TORS tonsilar procedure......HELP!!

Jim,

I also had shoulder problems after TORS but didn't really pay any attention to it until after I finished Rads & Chemo. Started PT in March and have regained total range of motion (I wasn't able to lift my arm past horizontal) and a lot, but not all, of my strength.

I recently used a hedge trimmer over my head for a couple of hours to trim a tree with the only problem being my thumbs (arthritis). About 2 months ago I tried the same thing and it was a disaster. I still have some mild pain on and off in my mid back in addition to getting tired that my PT and I are working on.

My PT person is fantastic. She also puts up with my adding exercises and helps me fine tune them, form & weight amounts. My feeling is that I should be strengthening all my muscles, not just the one's the insurance company ok'd. Fortunately she's on board with that. She also explained and the surgeon confirmed that the accessory nerve was nicked. Part of my ear, chin & neck are numb - not a big deal. The PT and time address's that as well. The shoulder is a complicated joint with lots of muscles.

I remember starting to stretch my shoulder before I started PT and that was good. There are lots of stretches that use the wall and go slow!

I've not been doing my PT of late, I'm rebuilding my front stairs! Imagine that!

Take great care you are doing great,

Jim

Hi Jkin:

Just joined today, have read your posts with interest. Also did 30 days (no chemo, gratefully)--up to day 10, I thought, well, I've got this. Shortly after it got a little bit rocky, but I had a tongue ulcer, hope you don't have any complications. I had a great team, too, and I also found myself humbled by people in the waiting room who were clearly in a daily fight for their lives. I'm convinced cancer is a thief; takes something from everyone, sometimes takes everything.

Hi Russ:

The surgical clips were not meant to dissolve; they were meant to calcify or move to digestion. The one that seems to impede my swallowing doesn't prevent my enjoyment of gin and tonics ("steal the last from me, gods, and I'll defy you"--or something in Greek).

It's interesting/distressing how cancer can set up camp in your head and be reluctant to leave. I've found myself apologizing often to people for the Cancer Me that the disease has made me. Neither my surgeon nor my radiation oncologist prepared me for the psychological wages that post-cancer would demand.

Hey Jim: Hope you're having a good day. Tough news that you first had cancer in 2007; that predates (as you know) the less-invasive TORS procedure, which my surgeon told me really became available around 2017-2018. I'm told that prior to transoral, getting to a tonsillectomy was a real bitter chore. Spoiler alert for those who are about to have neck cancer surgery--don't search out the Youtube videos. Also, instruct your surgeon or nurse not to "proudly advertise" the DaVinci once you're in the very well-lit surgery room just prior to getting the IV(!!)

I was well medicated after surgery (gabapentin/celecoxib/oxycodone), and was sleepy, but was able to work from home (second spoiler: only give gabapentin a week or so trial: Wikipedia sourced says only 30-40% of people respond to it, and I can state unambiguously that it didn't work for me). Happy for those it helps, but I think gabapentin is worthless.

I didn't mind "the mask" too much. I managed to get in some Headspace meditation sessions beforehand, so I kind of centered mentally as the lead pencils danced across my face. I also wrote radiation haiku for my radiation oncologist (more later) to try to keep things light. I stopped being cute in week three. Re mask: I asked the tech at the outset if I got to keep mine; I'm a historian, and thought well, what the heck. On day 30 it was The Last Thing On My Mind.

My surgical clips are titanium, so non-ferrous, and so not a problem for MRIs should that become necessary. I didn't have guide-points placed for the radiation, which I understand is a relatively new improvement. Having said that, I thought that the clips to prevent bleeding would dissolve; apparently not. The one clip I have in my throat is protruding and causing pain. The surgeon said--raise your hand if you've had to explain/justify your pain level beyond the simple "1-10" question--"exactly how much pain are you in?" I meant to ask him how much pain he thought he'd be in if he swallowed a staple, but was too stunned by the observation that there was one there in the first place that I just deer-headlighted. "It wakes me up. It hurts." (Dignity is compromised when you have to choose between moderate (5-6) pain and pleading for medication).

I also hope the other loose pins my neck don't migrate. It's a trip learning that there's a small splinter of metal lodged in your throat--do you eat bread trying to dislodge it, or do you not antagonize it by drinking more Boost drinks? ;-)

I'm very interested in the experience of others with respect to chewing, swallowing, and taste. I'm almost four months out from radiation (4/15/22) and I still don't sense much WRT taste. Spicy is definitely out. I have sweet and salty, but increments seem lost (for now).

What a great, compassionate community. I resisted joining an online group because I told my wife "I want to put this in my rearview as soon as possible, and not talk about it." Clearly it's going to be my passenger for longer than I'd expected.

Dave