Diagnosed last Monday (Squamous Cell -throat cancer)

Pam M said:

What Now?
Mike,

Glad to hear from you again here. Sorry to hear things are hard AGAIN. We need to send your cousin Murphy on vacation - or get him to find his own place, so he can get out of your house.

Amazed that drs found something "new" without new tests. Huh?

Glad you already have the PEG is place, so you can put it to good use NOW.

Please know that there are a lot of us pulling for you, and hoping you catch a break.

Chefdaddy said:

Hi everyone,
Thank you for
Hi everyone,

Thank you for your support, friendship and prayers.

We finally got moved this weekend but I was very ill during all of it. If I wasn't carrying something I was passing out.

I had my eleventh radiation treatment today and it was a very frustrating session with the doctors afterwards. While he and another doctor were talking between each other as they were looking at their computer screen, I picked up out of their quiet chatter that they had increased the amount of rads of the treatments and when I questioned them about it they mumbled that they had found "something" in another lymph node.

I was completely stunned, first, for hearing this for the first time and that I had to question them to find this out and secondly, that this increase in the rads have my throat, tongue, inside cheeks and lips very swollen with ulcers everywhere. I cannot drink water without inflicting pain and there is no way that liquid food can go down, everything burns horribly.

This morning I gargled four times with Magic Mouthwash and it did nothing to ease the pain.
The doctor gave me a bottle of straight Lidocaine.

I had lost the hearing in my right ear after they removed the right lymph node in my neck back in December, but just lately, whenever I swallow, it sends a bolt of pain to my right ear drum. The doctor told me today that when they did the surgery it affected a band of nerves that goes from the jaw up to the ear, and that the radiation is now making it worse.

My question is how can they find "something" in a lymph node now when there has not been any additional tests or scans done since the beginning scans?

I could not understand why I appeared to be reacting and burning so much faster to the radiation treatments than the typical three weeks into the treatments that I have read about here. The last week has been a dramatic increase in burning, swelling, sores and the inability to eat or drink. My lips look like I kissed a hot burner on the stove, they're pretty ugly!

The doctor also said he is thinking about stopping the Erbitux chemo as I have had numerous bad reactions to it and now they give me two bags of Benadryl before they administer the Erbitux in an attempt to stop the bad reactions which comes on like a heart attack.

The latest Erbitux side-affect is that the skin on the ends of all my fingers have started splitting and bleeding, making it near impossible to zip up or button my pants or open a water bottle.

So guys and gals, if there was ever any doubt that "Murphy" was a close relative to me...it's no longer a debate, the vote is in! LOL

I won't have internet until March 2ND, my brother brought over his laptop tonight and he picked up a neighbors internet on his WiFi.

Thank you all again!

Hondo,

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that and surgery as well. My prayers are with and for you my friend. If you try to call I must warn you that I can barely get an audible sound out. But if you don't mind a bunch of whimpering grunts please call when your up to it.

Ill try to write again asap!

Your friend

Mike

sweetblood22 said:

I am sorry to hear about
I am sorry to hear about difficulty walking and the bleeding. I had bad bleeding from ,my mouth too, starting pretty early.

Find that canned food, and get some in you. Keep your strength up. Still praying for you. I started a list by my bed to keep names straight. I have an awful memory anymore!

I have a love hate relationship with my laptop. Though, it is mostly hate. One of these days, it will be in micro-pieces.

Chefdaddy said:

My Friends!
Hi all my friends,

First, John you're not the only "old" guy around here lol my birthday was Monday and since I can't eat anything I made the kids a big pot of oyster stew and surprised them with fresh Dungeness crabs. They had a blast! I foolishly tried to drink a glass of wine...oh the pain lol.

I had a breakthrough at chemo today, I asked the nurse PA if I could not have the Benadryl as it is on the unsafe drug list for Porphryia, she said the doctor would most likely not agree to do that but a few minutes later she returned and he agreed and was going to give me some other kind of blocker for the Erbitux. I didn't have one side-affect through the whole treatment! Yippie!!!

My problem with looking this way with sores all over my head, blisters on my swollen lips and unable to speak, is that once she knows I have cancer she will file all sorts of motions to get the kids back. I don't think I can deal with that.

My daughter just got approved today as my care provider so she is going to start getting paid for all the hard work she has been doing. She is such a loving sweetheart, I am a very blessed dad.

I don't have enough strength to thank you all directly my friends, so thank you all so very much, I love you all!

Hondo, much pain came from you making laugh so hard, my daughter ran into the kitchen where I'm on my brothers laptop again wanting to know why I was laughing and making painful noises at the same time...lol I really needed the humor today my friend, thank you!

God Bless you all!

Mike

Skiffin16 said:

Salt Water Washes
Hi Staceya,

I used both hydrogen peroxide and baking soda washes (mouth rinsing), it was still kind of nasty, all I could taste was that it seemed...at one time even water tasted like sweat.

Keep an eye on your Amifostine Injections and Rads...around day 29 or 30 I started getting sever temperature swings...anywhere fro 96.7 - 102.8. I finally stopped the Amifositine so I could wipe out the remaing few rads.......

Good Luck & Good Bless,
John

Hondo said:

Daddy Mike
You should have started in on your 4th week of treatment today #16, how are you doing my friend. I got all the tubes and stent pulled out and I tell you I can hit a fly off the sidewalk 5 feet away now. Pluming is clean as a whistle the hydrant might be the same but all working well.