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Radiation side effects with H&N cancer. When will they ever end?
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Dec 11, 2023 | Replies (141)Comment receiving replies
Hi, I have been post H&N cancer treatment for 6 1/2 years and the journey has had its ups and downs. My issues were as follows:
1. Feeding tube inserted 2 weeks after radiation treatment began an remained in stomach for 9 months. If I would not have been on the tube, I would be dead. I was unable to eat anything and was hospitalized for 6 weeks. I had lost 70 lbs over a 6 month period
2. Swallowing was the first issue that needed attention. I started with the softness food possible, DQ ice cream worked for me. Only the ice cream with chocolate, strawberry etc flavoring. This was in addition to the benefits of the feeding tube. I needed the caloric benefits from the feeding tube sessions 3 times daily.
3. Get to exercising as soon as I feel I was able. The strength was a factor BUT I believed if I stayed in bed etc and continued to feel sorry for myself, I would NEVER get out of that hospital.
4. Went to every radiation treatment for 6 weeks. If I was going to hopefully beat this cancer, I knew that each treatment session would been critical in the long run.
5. Current Status: Dry month and throat are a given. I drink plenty of fluids and a couple of beers everyday which has helped with my swallowing. I know it will NEVER be the way it was pre-radiation BUT I am still alive so I have learned to live with it.
6. I lost all but 2 of my bottom teeth and had to replace them with a full partial.
7. I no longer can eat any meat/pork or any food that requires saliva to break it down. Further, my throat is smaller so all food must be chewed for several minutes before I attempt to swallow it OR I will choke. Items will get stuck on the small craters in my throat that are the result of high dosage radiation to my throat.
In sum, I hope I have assisted you with some of my post-radiation effects BUT please remember everyone's results are different. What I believe is true is that, you can overcome any of the issues you may be having by
believing in God and your doctors BUT you need to do the work nobody else can. I wish you well and God Bless.
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It sounds like you did everything right and still ended up with a plate full of issues. I often wonder if later on our issues go away or we just get so used to them that they seem normal and therefore disappear in our mind rather than in our body. I too chew for a long time and am often the last to finish a meal.
My biggest complaint is medications which come in the size of horse pills sometimes. I tell the pharmacist I cannot swallow such things. Do they have similar in smaller size where I can take twice as much or perhaps liquid? I am often met with bewildered stares.
Believe it or not, in my case and others, things may continue to improve as the years go by. Either like I said we get used to the issues, or perhaps its age, or actual real improvement. Ten or more years out seems to be a better mark. It took that long or perhaps longer before I could sleep through the night without getting up to relieve dry mouth or wake up from choking due to lack of saliva.
I wish some day folks like us could get together for a big group hug because some days we all could sure use one. In the meantime, please continue to post your experiences and your help with new patients or their caregivers. Your input and assistance is very much appreciated.
Your last line paraphrases Oliver Cromwell to wit: "Believe in God but keep your (gun)powder dry."
Bill