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← Return to 13 weeks post radiation and throat pain continues
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13 weeks post radiation and throat pain continues
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Jan 27 12:18pm | Replies (22)Comment receiving replies
Hi @fwpoole
I believe everything will go very well for you. Did they tell you how many radiation sessions you will receive? I did not have surgery because the tumour was too large to remove.
There are others that have posted their adventures. All Head and Neck patients experience side effects. Some worse than others. As I had mentioned, I have had 3 different doctors tell me I’m just one of the unlucky ones. I have, or am still dealing with what seems like every side effect listed. I realize as a H&N survivor my life will never go back to pre-cancer normal. I don’t know what my new normal will be but I do know that what I’m going through will not last forever and stay as severe as it is now. My oncologist told me about a year post radiation gives you a fairly good picture of what I will be living with. In other words, by July 2022 I will have a fairly good idea what my new normal will be.
I hope all will go well for you. Stay strong and follow the advice of your team. Sounds like your odds are very good.
Replies to "Hi @fwpoole I believe everything will go very well for you. Did they tell you how..."
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@srm , I will be going through the standard NCCN guideline of 33 radiation “treatments” (as if its a treat) of 69 RAD and three rounds of carboplatin/5-fluorouracil (instead of cisplatin).
There are many successful studies using less radiation and chemo, resulting in less long term side effects and better quality of life in the long run, but these are not approved per the NCCN. These studies are taking place because HPV cancers are showing up more in younger people in their 40’s who will likely live longer with long term side effects, which they are trying to diminish. For those of us in our 60’s, well, we’ve had a good run!
Unfortunately for us already affected, these studies can take as long as 10 years since they need a sizable study group over several years to meet the standard 5 year survival rate. So, here we are….