Navigating my way through throat cancer

Rllampton
My heart goes out to you and your family, getting a cancer diagnosis feels like a bad dream (that it can’t be true).
Right now you’re processing a lot of things so be gentle with yourself. Couple of things I found that made my journey easier:
(1) Had my wife come with me to every doctor visit with a notebook to take notes of everything that was said. This was very helpful as your head is spinning with emotions/stress/anxiety and it’s easy to overlook something said.
(2) Exercise (walk) before you start treatment to build up your strength and stamina…as you begin treatment your body will be able to recover faster. I had three weeks before surgery to walk every day and continued through the first few weeks of radiation until I got too tired to walk.
(3) Consider talking to a mental health professional about what you’re experiencing…the biggest surprise I had was the mental health issues that will come up dealing with cancer and treatment. It’s all consuming and I found talking about it helped me to process my emotions and feelings.
(4) Stanford University Speech and Language has posted a very helpful guide to head and neck exercises to perform during treatment that will strengthen your swallowing muscles and keep your neck and jaw muscles from stiffening and loosing strength. I did these prescribed exercises 3X/day and it saved me from using a feeding tube and made post treatment easier to manage. Two weeks post radiation I was able to eat steak and salad which is not typical for many patients according to my doctor.
I know how low you must feel right now as you start your journey…we’ve all been there and can tell you it’s a lot to deal with…but you will get through this (& believe me one silver lining to getting cancer is my appreciation for life and for my family (especially my wife) is so much deeper than I ever could imagine.
One day at a time, hang in there and know that people are praying for you and your health!

@bluechip33 thank you for your response. I appreciate all that I’ve learned through all of those on this site that have been through this. A bit anxious to learn the stage and treatment plan, but whatever it is, we will get through it.

@rllampton Im,2 years cancer free. Tongue and lymph node cancer, Mayo Rochester. Radiation and simultaneous Cysplatin chemo. The Mayo folks are the absolute best! Care and comfort are their forte. Plenty of time for your questions. Relax and know you are doing the best you can do for yourself. I never felt rushed or talked down to. I healed well after surgery (tongue reconstruction) and used Tylenol and ibuprofen. I think I only used the oxy once or twice. The nurses in the hospital are outstanding. I had a g tube post surgery during radiation and chemo. They have a serious protocol for anti nausea drugs during chemo. So don't worry about that. They are pain management experts. You are in the best hands. As far as work goes I think you might be good early on. The last week or so you may be a bit more tired. Full days might be hard. My chemo drug came with a hefty dose of steroids that gave me quite a buzz and energy to boot!
Take care. Be confident in your care team and yourself.

@sandy8043 So glad to here about you being 2 years cancer free. Thank you for sharing some of your experience, i truly appreciate it. I would be open to that energy boot, lol. Since I found out about the cancer diagnosis, I have felt very tired. I am sure it is mostly stress and anxiety. I am not looking forward to the PET Scan later this week, but at the same time I am anxious to know.
Thank you

@jonesja
My journey was very similar to (jonesja). HPV tongue & lymph nodes, had surgery in September 2025 and radiation Oct-Dec 2025 (33 treatments). I made it through surgery/radiation quite well and except for a short time was always eating solid food. Had feeding tube installed as a precaution but never used it and had it removed three weeks after radiation ended.
Ten weeks post radiation now and I have no diet restrictions but still experiencing dry mouth problems primarily at night. Sleep has been an issue but is improving, stamina and energy levels are definitely getting better especially the last few weeks.

@albion223 thank you very much. This is extremely helpful to hear from everyone about their experience through cancer. For now, I am trying to just stay patient and wait for the doctors orders on how to move forward with a treatment. I have been a bit tired lately. I assume it’s mostly stress at this point but I am also continuing with my normal exercise routines..

Best of luck, no experience, but have some concerns re mouth issues, so waiting for tests.

@albion223 You are doing excellent for only about 4 months out from radiation. I believe my eating ability, taste buds, and salvia production ( dry mouth cause) were at 50% at best during that time. Today 30 months out I am about 90% back to normal on all including my stamina and engery levels. It is a SLOW climb back but keep the Faith!

@rllampton I'm not a scan fan, either. I've had MS as well for almost 30 years so I've experienced every generation of MRI machine. The PET was much more interesting. I have never opened my eyes in any scanner. I have one of those brains that likes to store scary pictures and show them to me at 3 in the morning. I can't even sees commercial for a scary movie.