Getting frustrated with throat pain post radiation

Hi srm my mom is also in same spot having pain after radiation it’s been 3 months and pain is still , I hope everything is good on your end

Hi srm,
Well heck. Better and then another mess. This life with the effects of cancer is just a pain in the neck, in more ways than one. Frustrating that your life post cancer is challenged with a liquid diet. I just want to give you a bear-hug but of course I can't. Good to hear things are getting to a new normal and your attitude is good as well.
Stay with this group and in years to come you might pull someone back from the edge of the cliff. Thanks for the update and glad you are still with the rest of us.
Bill

Hi @hrwilliam
My Throat pain has improved significantly but it ended up taking even longer than expected.
On January 16, 2022 I had emergency surgery to repair a bleeding Lingula Artery. Apparently this type of radiation induced aneurysm is extremely rare. As a result, My oncologist told me that I will be on a liquid diet the remainder of my life and will be on a pain management (opioids) program the remainder of my life. Just being told such does not mean I will stop trying. I plan to eat again some day as well as get off opioids. Overall, I am doing much better and feeling quite well. I have the pain but it could be much worse. I am walking and talking. My wife and I just took a short vacation (Just a family visit). It was nice to socialize and laugh again even though I can't eat. It's been a long time. Life is good 🙂

srm
Just a note of curiosity, how are you progressing? I am hopeful things are getting better for you although one would expect it is not quickly enough.
I am wishing this note finds you in good recovery.
William

Welcome @dratta. Thanks for the tip about what worked for you. May I ask what type of cancer you had? What treatments? How are you doing?

Hi. Hope your better but if not. I've had the same symptoms and was just diagnosed with nerve ending damage. 1 week of meds ,75mg pregabalin capsule to get used to it but the real change came once the dosage was double in week 2. Instant relief. Still a long way to go but week 3 and I'm eating runny pasta

@henrytimmins
I agree with others. Be cautious with alternative treatments. I have no regrets going through the 33 radiation treatments and my chemotherapy. I am now cancer free which makes it all worthwhile. This is not a fun journey and everyone reacts differently to the treatments. I’ve been told by my oncologist and Speach Therapist that I’m “just one of the unlucky ones”. I have experienced almost every side effect listed. Again-no regrets. And I realize that my life will never be the same as it was pre-cancer. I believe it will be better. Changed but better. This has given me an entirely new perspective on life. Now on the sugar issue. I am 61 years old. My wife and I went sugar free 3 years prior to my diagnosis. I was type 2 diabetic and completely reversed my diabetes by adopting this lifestyle. I kept my carbs below 20g per day. At the time of my diagnosis I had lost 50 pounds due to my low carb lifestyle and had been on no medications for over two years.
I was in the best health of my life. My doctor literally used me as his poster child for his type 2 patients to prove that diet and exercise plays a crucial role in the control of diabetes. I have read the research on sugar as well. I believe sugar outside of moderation is poison to our body. Yes, there is some data out there that claims cancer feeds on sugar. Personally, I believe it. However, if sugar causes cancer and/or eliminating sugar can cure cancer then why did I get the big “C”? I was “sugar free”. I didn’t question the treatment recommended by the experts. However, I remained on a low carb diet as best as I could throughout my treatment. My dietician supported me in this. My recommendation to you is don’t delay starting the radiation therapy. If you want to stay low carb during that time it can’t hurt. I still have some hurdles to get over but getting support from sites like this helps tremendously. I wish that I would have found this support group before treatment started. I never discovered this until about 2 months after my treatment ended.
Be strong and listen to the experts. There is nothing wrong with asking them a lot of questions to help put you at ease.

When considering complementary or alternative treatments, be open-minded yet skeptical. Learn about the potential benefits and risks. Here is an article from Mayo Clinic that might interest you about evaluating claims made by the producers and/or sellers of supplements, natural products and other alternative medicines. http://mayocl.in/2tGC0Jp

There are many articles on the internet and books proclaiming that sugar feeds cancer and that avoiding sugar will prevent the growth of cancer. To set things straight…sugar does not cause cancer on its own. Giving sugar to cancer cells does not make them grow faster and depriving (or starving) cancer cells of sugar does not make them grow more slowly. Read more from Mayo Clinic here:

- Sugar's Role in Cancer https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/cancer-education-center/newsfeed-post/sugars-role-in-cancer/
- Sound nutritional advice when dealing with cancer https://www.mayoclinic.org/documents/mc1604-37-02fal-pdf/doc-20078857
- No appetite? How to get nutrition during cancer treatment https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer/art-20045046

Be sure to verify that the information you read comes from a trusted health authority.

Reducing or eliminating sugar and eating a healthy diet can help reduce the risk of developing cancer and can help with recovery from cancer treatment. Healthy lifestyle choices like not smoking and being active when well can also help recovery from cancer treatments. These are proactive things that you can do in addition to treatment, not instead of.

Henry, please be very skeptical of any diet that claims to cure cancer. We wish it were true, but it's not.

If you are smarter than the five or six oncologists you spoke to then please continue on your course of starving the cancer, hopefully without starving yourself first. No cancer treatment is easy and not all are successful. But we know that no treatment rarely turns out well. All of the folks I know that tried that route are no longer around to ask.
Courage. Courage. Dying of cancer isn't as easy as fighting. Please fight for those who love you, including you.

Hang in there. You are stronger than you think. Have a whole pumpkin pie with whip cream if you want. No one gets to tell you that's not good for you. You have been attacked. Now you get to heal.
We are here for you and some day you will be here for someone else. That's how it works.