I love your idea about having your daughters go to friends homes to have dinner. That is a great idea! But... what about you? Maybe they can bring you home a plate? I know you have alot on your shoulders. Try your best to take some time for just you at least once a week.

Jessica, your question is one thats not easy to answer. There are so many variables when trying to guess which and how intense the side effects will be. Everyone has a different body chemistry and experiences this slightly differently. One thing that plays a huge part in how a patient responds to their treatments with minimal side effects is their intake. Ive noticed the patients who do the best with their intake have less severe side effects. Only a few unlucky patients will notice side effects from the first week or so. For most patients its week 3 or 4 when the going gets tough. The last week is definitely the hardest and the first 2-3 weeks after finishing are pretty rough as the radiation continues working even after finishing treatments. The recovery phase is usually starts about 3 weeks post rads and for most its a slow go with ups and downs.

My estimate is 10-15% of patients going thru rads while paying close attention to getting 2500+ calories and 48-64 oz of water every single day will sail right thru with barely a sore throat and slight sunburned neck. Next are the 10-15% of patients who suffer the greatest as a direct result of not paying enough attention to their intake. The largest group is what most of us went thru at 70-80% of OC patients. They develop painful mouth sores and their "sunburned" neck turns into open weeping sores. The last group doesnt always get enough nutrition and hydration causing significant weight loss which also causes them to feel pretty lousy.

Another major factor is if chemo is given, how often and what type. The patients who get chemo one dose every three weeks have a harder time than those who get the smaller weekly doses. Cisplatin can cause permanent high frequency hearing loss so its vitally important to pay close attention to any changes in hearing and report it immediately to the doctors so chemo can be changed before another dose is given.

For the sunburned neck pat your choice of cream or lotion onto the reddened area. Never put it on prior to going for the rads treatment. Its ok to pat some on immediately afterwards. My son drove me to almost every treatment, I patted the beta val ointment on as we drove back home. I would apply it 3 or 4 times a day. When my neck was at its worst with oozing open sores, I still would very gently pat the ointment onto my neck. I also placed non stick gauze pads on top of the ointment. My neck was in really bad shape but somehow I dont see any scars.

In case I havent already gave you intake info. The daily bare minimum is 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water. If you can get your husband to manage a few more calories it can only help make this easier.

Hope this helps you and your husband.