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New cancer 2 months after TORS Surgery chemo+radiation
My husband had extensive TORS surgery Jan 25 for HPV + SSC. While hospitalized for aspiration pneumonia catscan showed cancer is back and biopsy revealed it's deeply embedded behind where tonsil was. He has to go to rehab for PT to regain strength before starting concurrent chemo + radiation. How hard is this on a 76 year old who was in good physical health 6 months ago? Looking g for suggestions or advice from experience of others. Thank you.
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@craigj1957 I'm so sorry you are having such a terrible time . My husband tried Chinese food and it helped him. He was lucky that he qualified for a clinical trial, his treatments were reduced, still it's a hard road to recovery. It's easy to get depressed when you don't feel anymore like you used to but maybe think that the worst is over. Another person on here suggested taking it a week at a time,do you feel even a little bit better this week than last week. It will get better.
Thankyou !! On 4 cartons of nestle feed and a small amount of
grazing....still puking a bit.
Thankyou. On feeding tube still. Eating a small amount...but still
puking..this is a bear.
Working on fighting off the depression.
Thankyou
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1 ReactionThankyou !!
@craigj1957 Hello and welcome to the head and neck group.
Stage three is pretty rough. Recovery after chemo and radiation is a much slower process than one would think it would be. However, you must eat, either by feeding tube or preferably swallowing. You are most likely tired because you lack nutrition. Your body is trying to heal but you are withholding the protein needed to heal. So you feel like crap and you are tired because you are starving.
If you are tired of the feeding tube, as anyone would be, those fifty swallowing muscles need exercise to get back to normal. You will have to concentrate on each swallow, no talking or distraction. Soft food only until you get to chewable food, at which point chew well.
Eat whatever floats your boat, preferably something with protein and fat like ice cream, yogurt, applesauce, soft boiled eggs, oatmeal or an entire custard pie if you like. The taste may not be the same as you remember. Try something new because of the taste change.
As for posting on Connect, you jumped on a two year old conversation / discussion. Go ahead at any time to start your own discussion with a statement or better yet, a question such as “What can I eat after all they did to me?”. You will get many eyes on your own discussion and help from a lot of good folks who have walked in your shoes and been humbled by cancer and specifically head and neck cancer in this fine group of medically damaged goods.
I myself went through this in my forties and like you, lacked the fight to get whole again, at least for a while. It is understandable, especially at our age now. But giving up isn’t a good option either. Take it week by week and note the progress, small as it may be at first. Eat! Three or more times per day. Watch comedy movies on tv and learn to laugh again. No popcorn! Milkshakes are great.
And above all, Courage.
Looking forward to your next post.
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3 Reactions@craigj1957 Boost has a 530 high calorie drink which my husband uses as he lost 13 lbs in a week. You should try it to build up some weight, hope this helps!
@craigj1957 please try to eat more often,maybe try Ensure? It's very normal to feel depressed.
Hi ! 69 with tonsil and lymph nodes stage 3. Finished 5 chemo and 35 radiations june 9 this year. Still on feeding tube. I eat a very little every few days. I feel more tired each week and wondering if this is normal. The eating part is physiological.
And I am pretty depressed. Thanks for any help
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1 ReactionThe Almighty Healer! I say “ Jesus heal my body” several times a day. And when I am in that MRI and Pet Scan machine - I repeat it over and over. ❤️
wifili, lilyann here,
wish the best on your pet scan on the 3rd of nov. i go on the 4th of nov. i think i have about had it with the pet scans as each and everyone of them said "different" things........like one said i had cardiomegaly, so had to do an echo. several said i had a "normal" heart. now i am suppose to have a small hiatal hernia. however, the last radiologist didn't say anything about it on the last one. this last time did show an increase in size but as the n/p said......not by much. however, i'm not too sure about her being i asked her what they seen in the brain and she said she wasn't aware that i had an MRI, i didn't but the tec told me they were going to do the brain and it did say: limited evaluation to the brain due to intense physiologic uptake in the brain. i see no numbers after this remark and from what i could gather from dr. google, that's a good sign. lol. i'm oh so tired of the needles and blood draws. more to the story but running out of space. i'm not even suppose to be here. i have left it in god's hands, its all in his plan. god help all of us.