2 and a half weeks into recovery…

It seems you are doing better than most, what with going back to work already. The recovery is indeed very slow, comparable to a burn recovery in that it takes much longer than a simple bone fracture or sprain. The radiation has cooked your body from the inside. Add to that the Chemo. It seems your team really wanted to make sure you were not going to be defeated by the cancer.
So now you have passed the bottom and are on the rebuild. Yes it takes time. Years in fact as most will attest. The major bad stuff goes away in three to twelve months. The annoying stuff takes years and possibly never goes away. Eventually we learn to cope with the permanent damage, telling ourselves we are alive and what is just is. That of course isn't everyone. Certainly with the advances in head and neck cancer treatments, particularly in Squamous Cell Cancer (SSC) and with a link to HPV, the likelihood of reoccurrence is now extremely minimal.
Check back on your situation in 2.5 months. Then again in 2.5 years. I suspect you will just look back on this as the nightmare it was. Me, I'm 25 years out, but it still feels recent. I probably have lived more in the those 25 years than I ever could have imagined. I believe you will live life to the fullest as well. This journey changes our very soul. You have faced the old man at the door and sent him away. You have met this challenge with courage, which only makes you stronger. I wish you good healing. Find a permanent place for that water bottle beside the bed. Don't forget to smile when you wake up every morning. Congratulations, you've beat this!

@hrhwilliam
Thank you for the very kind words. It is much appreciated. I guess the hardest part is the not knowing what the future holds, but always imagining the worst. I have to change my outlook to a more “one day at a time” perspective. But it is hard to do that right now. The journey continues….

@hrhwilliam
Thanks for the encouragement to "live life to the fullest"! There's so much in your message to help others beginning their journey. I was 34 yrs old when I was diagnosed with Stage II parotid cancer. Went through 25 days of radiation after surgery. It sounds really rough to hear "cooked from the inside" and compared to burn patient, but that is where I found myself. I have mentioned elsewhere that there were no options to search for info or support. No computers or smart phones. Still, Stanford Hospital had art therapy for cancer patients and support groups too. It's wonderful to see what's available to help cancer patients! I also love this "Eventually we learn to cope with the permanent damage, telling ourselves we are alive and what is, just is."

There isn't much I can add to William's comment except to say I'm another long-term survivor. It's hard in the beginning but over time, one learns to put it in perspective. The inconveniences don't outweigh the fact that you survived a deadly disease. Take care and allow yourself the time to adapt.

The heavy phlegm gets better in time. Gargle with a salt and baking soda solution frequently and keep spit cups within reach. There are many products to help with dry mouth. I also kept sugar free jolly ranchers at hand for dry mouth between sips of water. Get referrals for speech therapy and OT as needed for swallow therapy and swelling/lymphedema.
Take good care.

I had the exact same thing as you. I discovered my left tonsil was massive one day. As you may have learned, HPV P16+ is a good factor for treatment and prognosis.
I had surgery to remove the tonsil but it was not TORS (Transoral Robotic Surgery) , just a standard tonsillectomy for the purpose of biopsy I was told. I didn’t know about theTORS option at the time. Not one of the doctors I consulted with knew anything about NavDX. Or they refused to see a way to include it in “standard of care”. My post surgery PET scan was very clean so not being able to use NavDX data was really frustrating.

After my surgery I had no demonstrable tumor or lymph involvement. So radiation treatment was complicated to prescribe. One Doctor wanted to include chemo but changed his mind after consulting with the “Tumor Board” at another hospital who recommended no chemo. But they say there were “positive margins” on the tonsil which indicated that cancer cells were left behind. So radiation was prescribed. I ended up getting referred for proton beam therapy at another hospital over an hour away.

I finished treatment on 03/19/26. So I’m almost three months post treatment. The proton radiation shredded my skin. I think photon radiation might be slightly easier on the skin. It was difficult to open my mouth for about two weeks before I finished til about two weeks after treatment. Still stiff. I’m noticing the neck fibrosis that you read about. I do have some lymphatic drain issues but not horrible. I’ve read where some people have a very difficult time after their lymph system has been damaged by radiation.

On my skin I used calendula cream which helped my skin recover very well and eased discomfort. Do NOT use calendula OINTMENT, it’s petroleum based and tends to pull dead skin off. It’s very difficult to manage. The cream is water based. The ointment might be better for people with burns who want to create a skin “barrier”. My skin has healed very well.

I do have dry mouth, mostly over night, not as bad as I expected. I keep a glass of herbal tea on my nightstand and sip very small amounts to rebalance the moister in mouth. I sometimes mix in a teaspoon of honey which is good for it’s healing properties. I sip it as soon as the discomfort wakes me. It seems to help.

The most pronounced symptom for me is that my soft palate and back of my throat has been altered in such a way that I can no longer expel phlegm through my mouth (Hock and spit) from post-nasal drip so I’m forced to swallow it. I’ve always had sinus congestion problems at night so this has been difficult. In short, my throat opening (below the soft palate) is much smaller now. That seems to be a product of surgery and made worse by radiation.

My nasal cavity and the back of my throat felt like a dry burn for several weeks. It’s much better now. I irrigate with saline mist into my nose and use homeopathic throat spray. I’m hoping that my anatomy returns to close to what it used to be.

Wishing you the best for your recovery!

Hang in there!