Hi Carol and welcome. In answer to your question about lying flat and choking/vomiting. He'll probably know that by now when you put the mask on you have to put yourself in another place. You need to mentally clear your mind of whatever the symptoms of the day are, and suck it up for 15 minutes. When I put the mask on, I saw my reflection in the machine and I was someone else. I was a cancer fighting superhero and the mask was my armor. Sounds silly but it worked for me.

I missed the 3rd cisplatin. Its not a big deal, but if he can manage it it is beneficial. The reason so many people get out of it, by week 7 you usually have one or more side effects that make the 3rd dose unviable. Mine was tinnitus. The first two doses gave me quite a distressing amount of tinnitus, and the third dose would have made it worse. Its permanent, but doesn't affect everybody the same.

Of course its preferable if you can get the third dose in, but ultimately its a decision for your husband in consultation with your doctor. But if he can't get it done for whatever reason, don't beat yourself up over it. The decision is made for the right reasons at the time, and second guessing the decision later won't help.

No cancer journey is the same but I think as you've seen here many of us have been over the same bumps. Keep the chin up, its very contagious when it drops! Best wishes to you both.


Cheers, Dave (OzMojo)
19Feb2014 Diagnosed T2N2bM0 P16+ve SCC Tonsil.
31Mar2014 2 Cisplatin, 70gy over 7 weeks (completed 16May2014)
11August2014 PET/CT clear.
17July2019 5 years NED.