← Return to Throat Cancer Caregiver: What to expect after radiation?

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@hrhwilliam

Hi @debow1256 and welcome to Connect.
I'm not exactly sure where on the throat the radiation is being targeted however there are some general issues most of us have had to deal with at this stage in the treatment. The last week of radiation is likely the hardest for the patient to drag themselves back each day. For me I was becoming dehydrated and somewhat malnourished and then received an IV for fluids and vitamins, which helped considerably.
The patient likely will continue on the downhill slide for an additional two weeks after the end of radiation. You can expect many different side effects, such as extremely sore throat, phlegm and/or dry cough, pain when laughing (if laughing is possible) sore neck muscles, cramps in the neck and shoulders, nerve sensations, and many more. I always compare radiation effects to a roast in the oven: It continues to cook even after it has been taken from the heat. The healing is more akin to a burn than a standard injury and this burn is on the inside as well as the skin surface.
I don't want to scare you, just prepare you for the worst and hope for the best. It's a tough fight for certain but a winnable fight. The recovery will be two steps forward and one step back for weeks, months, and yes, years. We gage progress not day to day but are we better this week than last.
With every one of these I respond to I wish and pray that these cancers will be wiped out someday soon. No one should have to go through this, neither the patient nor the caregiver. We have made many advances just in the last twenty years so I hope this nightmare ends soon. Chin up and feel free to ask on this forum any questions as they arise. You have come to the right place where patients have answers from experience that often the doctors and nurses lack.
Can you include a bit of detail in any future response? Courage.

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Replies to "Hi @debow1256 and welcome to Connect. I'm not exactly sure where on the throat the radiation..."

first off so sorry for the long response, and you are so on point, I do appreciate. my biggest concern, at this point, she had her 1st PET scan the surgery was on 12/04/2024 . It was wonderful!!! She has gone back to work then started to lose weight that I maintained through radiation (I might add) I know it's stress and depression from work, she can swallow and I encourage that, she went to speech therapy and they told her she was burning calories while she chewed, so is slowing down that, and I really feel I had her in a good place, I know you burn calories with anything you do but, really,, I feel like I've been misleading her