Husband diagnosed with tonsil cancer: looking for tips and support

Posted by joy345 @joy345, Jun 24, 2023

I am writing for my husband who was recently diagnose with Tonsil Cancer. He finished the biopsy and PET scan but we do not know what stage is his cancer. The hospital we are in and ENT Dr. will not performed surgery and we were informed by phone of 6 weeks of radiation and 3 cycles of Chemo. We will know details with the oncology and radiology later this week. We will be seeing another Dr. for second opinion.

I feel bad we do not know the stage of his cancer and other details on the treatment. My husband is depressed for this was unexpected. He was told its only inflammation on his lymph nodes and the biopsy confirmed to be SCC(Squamous Cell Carcinoma). As the caregiver, I am hoping this forum/discussions will provide us encouragement and suggestions/help on the treatment he will be having.

I am new to this group.
Thank you for understanding.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Head & Neck Cancer Support Group.

@hrhwilliam

If I can jump in here, I too tried five different nausea meds until out of frustration my oncologist put me on Larazepam, which basically fogged me at night so I could rest. Mind you this was for the radiation sickness only as I did not have Chemo at that time. Everyone reacts to radiation differently. Radiation to the head and neck seems far worse than most.
There just isn't a lot to comfort your husband. But remember, this sickness isn't forever, just for a while. By spring things will look better and that's not far away. It isn't a pleasant fight by any means but it does take courage.

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Ok thanks, he has 9 more radiations and 1 more chemo, be so glad to get this done.

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@cris2

Did you have nausea and what helped you, what pills work? My husband been having nausea and takes two kinds of nausea meds, so then he can’t eat.

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@cris2 I did only had nausea a few times, and in every case, I was reminded to take them at the very first sign of an issue, as it is easier to go keep it away then to get rid of it. A few times, I just decided to take it as a precaution.

Please just remember, the treatments will end and things will return to normal, albeit what could be a new normal. So just grind, grind away and stay focused on the prize - being cancer-free.

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@cris2

Ok thanks, he has 9 more radiations and 1 more chemo, be so glad to get this done.

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Just so you are aware, after the course of radiation treatments is done, you can expect your husband to continue downhill for typically another two weeks. He may feel that something has gone terribly wrong but this is actually expected. Radiation continues to do its damage.
My eleven year old daughter noticed at the time that her Papa was miserable and hadn't laughed or smiled for many weeks. She was determined to change that. So she took her stash of cash she had saved from odd jobs and gifts and on her own went and purchased a DVD collection of Pink Panther movies for us to watch. It physically hurt a lot to smile and worse to laugh but it was worth it as a turning point in my recovery. Who could not laugh at such nonsense? You know Inspector Clouseau will never make it across the moat to the castle but he keeps trying ever inventive ways, always to failure.
The first time I could taste something good was about two weeks out, chicken soup. My wife saw tears on my cheeks and thought something was wrong But no, everything was going to be alright. Courage.

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@cris2

The last month been a nightmare. My husband is 78 and has tonsil cancer. He’s always had good checkups, tests were always good and he’s never sick so this is a shock. Our life now is stressful and we’re scared. The dr said the plan is chemo and radiation to knock this out, he’s stage 2 so they say it’s treatable . I’m so worried.

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How many radiation treatments will be administered?

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@hornb

How many radiation treatments will be administered?

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Total of 35 radiations and 3 chemotherapy. He goes for hydration once a week.

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@cris2

The last month been a nightmare. My husband is 78 and has tonsil cancer. He’s always had good checkups, tests were always good and he’s never sick so this is a shock. Our life now is stressful and we’re scared. The dr said the plan is chemo and radiation to knock this out, he’s stage 2 so they say it’s treatable . I’m so worried.

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I did 35 myself for same ailment and have had 2 ENT surgeons tell me they are finding out that is overkill. That 3-4 weeks is suffice. Maybe w the chemo you still must do 35. I had surgery to remove tumor and was told there was an 83% or so chance it would not come back with the operation only. I added the radiation to boost that chance to 90-92%.

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@hrhwilliam

If I can jump in here, I too tried five different nausea meds until out of frustration my oncologist put me on Larazepam, which basically fogged me at night so I could rest. Mind you this was for the radiation sickness only as I did not have Chemo at that time. Everyone reacts to radiation differently. Radiation to the head and neck seems far worse than most.
There just isn't a lot to comfort your husband. But remember, this sickness isn't forever, just for a while. By spring things will look better and that's not far away. It isn't a pleasant fight by any means but it does take courage.

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He barely can get food down, he said his throat is so bad. He has boost, eats a small amount of scrambled eggs, but he just doesn’t want to eat. I have to keep at him. He has lidocaine but says it doesn’t help that much.

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@cris2

The last month been a nightmare. My husband is 78 and has tonsil cancer. He’s always had good checkups, tests were always good and he’s never sick so this is a shock. Our life now is stressful and we’re scared. The dr said the plan is chemo and radiation to knock this out, he’s stage 2 so they say it’s treatable . I’m so worried.

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It helped me to freeze Boost and eat it like ice cream. I also lived on high protein smoothies and ice cream for about two weeks.

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@cris2

He barely can get food down, he said his throat is so bad. He has boost, eats a small amount of scrambled eggs, but he just doesn’t want to eat. I have to keep at him. He has lidocaine but says it doesn’t help that much.

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At this point he is at or near the bottom. Stay the course. We all lost considerable weight during radiation. Keep him hydrated. Maybe Jello and broth to snack on. Things will slowly start looking up. Three steps forward and two steps back for a while but it is still progress. Courage.

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@slmoore0626

It helped me to freeze Boost and eat it like ice cream. I also lived on high protein smoothies and ice cream for about two weeks.

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My husband got to this point of so much pain doesn’t want to drink his boost . He is getting feeding tube tomorrow. I’m hoping he will feel better with more nutrition. He is sleeping if he is not at appointments.

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