Just Diagnosed with Tonsil Cancer - How to Treat?

Jclassey again
I finally do not have pain when I eat. It took about 4.5 months to get to that point .
Taste is still very strange but slowly returning. Hopefully your husbands pain is manageable with just acetaminophen

Hey John,
I’m coming up on 8 years this fall since my treatments.
I was stage IV with as my oncologist said “way too much cancer for surgery”. So my only option was die or chemo radiation and I chose the treatment option!

Everyone responds differently to treatments and recovery so it’s hard to tell you what to expect.

I can tell you that observation of the many others during treatments surely assured me that the feeding tube and port was the correct decision!

It was nearly a year before I was able to eat solid food and I still struggle today. I need large amounts of water to get my food down and still choke frequently.

My oncology team insisted that I file for disability as we entered into treatment.
This was not easy for me to do as I have worked since a very young age.
I’m so thankful that I did go on disability because my team was right, I’m never going to be the same as I was.

I am a victim of the Camp Lejuene water so I really can’t say that my conditions are from my treatments or from the water as they both can cause similar problems.

I suffer from fatigue, slow reaction, forgetfulness, tinnitus, hearing loss, agitation, insomnia, chronic migraines, loss of balance and a few others.

So whichever way you decide to go I wish you the best and fight the good fight!
May God Bless you.

MOJO

cris2
No my throat did not hurt after chemo and radiation. I was able to swallow again without any problems once tumor was gone. it swrunk dramatically within the first 3 weeks of treatment.
Don

Does your throat still hurt when you eat? My husband is going on two and half months after treatments and still hurts to swallow and eat, he has to drink water after every bite. I think I heard on here it takes a long time to heal.

Ok thanks, good to know.

Hi johnbonani
I had 28 days of radiation and chemo and no surgery. The tumor is gone now and I've ganed back 10 or the 20 pounds I lost which is good. The side affects where challenging. I had a feeding tube for several months when I could only swallow sips of water, and I was always tired and caughing. But I'm fine now.
Let me know if I can answer any questions?

@cris2 I lost 8 pounds during treatments and 22 in the first 6 weeks post treatments. For me, the 30 pounds I lost brought just under my ideal weight. Starting in the third month, I began to gain weight. The body takes a real beating during treatment and in my mind (layman view), takes a lot of energy to heal itself. It'll happen in due time. Just keep eating and it good things follow!

After all treatments ended how long before you gained weight? My husband is done with treatments and it’s been 2 months, eating everything plus boost and only gained 3 lbs. over all he lost 30lbs when this started. Getting discouraged he can’t gain yet.

As far as the anxiety goes that's a real challenge. I've found that trying to stay busy and being around family does help. My wife is that one person that is constant with me so that's where I go. The weather is changing now and it's good to get out and enjoy that. It's tough to realize that my life will never be what it was before but that does not mean it won't be as good if not better. Being in a society where everything is at our fingertips makes it hard to surrender and just live. In my 45 years one thing I've learned is that humans always find a way to adapt and I'm no different. It just takes time and that's the hard part.

Thank you for your invite this is helping me with some of the anxiety issues and I'm learning it's one day at a time ,I'm also learning when I need rest I'm going to rest