Hello everyone
My husband was diagnosed with scc on the base of his tongue, stage IV, in Feb.2014. He has had the best attitude about tackling this, even knowing how tough it was going to be. His doctors and nurses always comment on his upbeat attitude and great disposition. He's had a rough couple of weeks and his attitude is starting to falter. I thought I would post on here and see if anyone else has had some of the issues that he has. I will post this here in the introduce yourself thread, but it could be put in the after treatment thread- sorry if I goofed.
My husband finished concurrent chemo and radiation in April. Both were hell for him to go through, but he made it. His neck burns healed remarkably well, but his throat is still a big issue. He still has so much pain whenever he tries to eat or drink anything. He takes small sips of water every day because he knows how important it is. However, even the water burns his throat. He has been seen by his radio-oncologist a couple of times since his treatment ended and he has examined him for thrush, but found nothing. He put him on an anti-thrush med (can't remember the name) just in case, but it didn't help as the pain was still there. The ENT has looked at him and said that he has some dead tissue and put him on an antibiotic. Both doctors have said that he is healing more slowly than they expected, but they aren't concerned. He has some sores that have been on his tongue and cheeks since he was doing radiation and they have not healed. Is that too long? The doctors have looked at them, but they don't seem to be worried about them.
He also has lymphedema which he is doing exercises, massage and wraps. It appears to be okay, as long as he manages it.
Lastly, he is still on his anti-nausea medicine, which he believes he should be off of. The times he has tried to go without it, the nauseous feeling returns and he often vomits. The pain of throwing up is excruciating on his burned throat.
He is having a difficult time because he seems to be stagnant. He would just like some signs of improvement and feels like something is wrong or he's not doing something right. The ENT was very firm telling him that he can't control how his body reacts to radiation and he is healing, but it's just slower than others.
Long post, I know. Anyone have any advice? He is being treated at a major cancer center and his treatment seems to be the standard for his type of cancer.
