I am just over a year out of the 35 doses of radiation and weekly chemo regimen to cure the cancer on the back of my tongue and right side of my neck’s lymph node.
And totally agree with this post. It is a fight and you will win. The Helios helped immensely. I would add that these days of pain provide a time to learn that God cares for you and is active in your life. Use this time to seek Him and grow in grace and knowledge. He has plans for all of us.
Thank you so much for taking the time to address my question. I do believe this is in Gods hands and he will walk with us during this very difficult time 🙏
I was going to say that, but I guess I didn’t want to sound too preachy. God certainly helped me get through this and I thank Him every night and day. Try praying it really helps.
In addition to @jersey3422 helpful comments, I had 35 rounds of radiation for a total of 70Gy (7 weeks) and 3 rounds of cisplatin chemo for left tonsil cancer back in 2008 and I did research then and found in an England Journal of Medicine that honey could help soothe the throat. I did shots of real honey not the ones you find in your local grocery store which most all are synthetic and don’t have the same benefits. It definitely took some of the edge off for me.
I would use Manuka honey which you can find on Amazon that scores at least UMF 10+ and MGO rating of 100+ are considered potent enough for medicinal use- UMF ranges from 10 to 25, the higher the rating, the more potent the benefits are, and of course, the more expensive, the honey.
Hope this helps and you will get better. Good luck on the journey.
I finished 7 weeks of proton therapy and Cisplatin chemo last September. I had my 3rd three month checkup last month and it was clear. I would definitely recommend you find a proton radiation therapy treatment. It’s finely targeted to the tumor to minimize collateral damage.
Nevertheless, I have some side effects but definitely not debilitating. I followed all the recommendations from the care team. I had an excellent Speech-Language Therapist who taught me a series of exercises to preserve the swallowing muscles function. There’s also a program called Eat All Through Radiation. You should ask your care team about these. They really worked for me.
You also may be told to gargle at least three time a day with baking soda and salt water. I read early on a comment that a patient had posted saying he made a batch every morning and put the container in the bathroom so he could use it more frequently. I followed that advice gargling 5-10 times a day.
Finally I didn’t use the Aquafor as it’s a petroleum based lotion and putting that on my neck and then undergoing radiation seemed crazy. So I used shea butter, coconut oil or aloe vera gel at least 5 times a day on my neck. Before this I had never really used lotions so it was new to me. Also a radiation tech told me early on to completely wash the lotion off with soap and water before treatment. Then wait two hours after treatment to allow residual heat to subside before reapplying lotion. I had very little external effects on my skin, so it seemed to have worked.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to address my question. I do believe this is in Gods hands and he will walk with us during this very difficult time 🙏
God bless you 🙏
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1 ReactionThank you so much for the kind words. I do believe in the power of prayer so very much 🙏
Thank you so much for the feedback. I’m willing to try anything to keep him comfortable during this time. 🙏
Hello, radiation starts Wednesday for five full weeks Monday thru Friday.
I finished 7 weeks of proton therapy and Cisplatin chemo last September. I had my 3rd three month checkup last month and it was clear. I would definitely recommend you find a proton radiation therapy treatment. It’s finely targeted to the tumor to minimize collateral damage.
Nevertheless, I have some side effects but definitely not debilitating. I followed all the recommendations from the care team. I had an excellent Speech-Language Therapist who taught me a series of exercises to preserve the swallowing muscles function. There’s also a program called Eat All Through Radiation. You should ask your care team about these. They really worked for me.
You also may be told to gargle at least three time a day with baking soda and salt water. I read early on a comment that a patient had posted saying he made a batch every morning and put the container in the bathroom so he could use it more frequently. I followed that advice gargling 5-10 times a day.
Finally I didn’t use the Aquafor as it’s a petroleum based lotion and putting that on my neck and then undergoing radiation seemed crazy. So I used shea butter, coconut oil or aloe vera gel at least 5 times a day on my neck. Before this I had never really used lotions so it was new to me. Also a radiation tech told me early on to completely wash the lotion off with soap and water before treatment. Then wait two hours after treatment to allow residual heat to subside before reapplying lotion. I had very little external effects on my skin, so it seemed to have worked.
Hope this helps.
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