does anyone out there have whos had radiation therapy NOT suffered severe side effects? not lost salivary glands, etc?
frankly im pretty scared to go do it from what ive read in this forum!

Do it - some of the complications suck... But it could save your life! I am done with radiation. I'm still stiff still have some mouth sores and am swollen 6 weeks out. The drooling the two - three weeks following was brutal!!! But so far so good. My taste is slowly coming back mouthsores fading - I can eat - though acidic stuff just ruins me. If you take care of yourself your skin should be ok. Drooling has subsided so things are improving - long range i don know but fir now Im ok. Pleas don le fear keep you from doing what you have to to fight this... Good luck!

Hi Russ

Radiation is a scary prospect..I totally understand your anxiety. I am currently undergoing treatment..have had 7 rads so far and for me I am still able to eat, drink and apart from slight redness at the back of my throat and under my tongue, I am doing ok.That's not to say that I don't stress about my ability to cope and get through the rigours of the treatment as time progresses. Long term side effects are something that every OC survivor learns to live with and I hope to be one of them soon!!

I wish there was a gentler way to eradicate cancer but this is what we have now so we have to take the chance and pray that we get on top of this horrible illness.

All the very best to you.

Liza

Russ,

Without knowing anything about your diagnosis or if you will get concurrent chemo or how you will get it and chemo COULD make a negative difference, I can say that each of us can respond differently. I always say that 10% of us have the worst time, 10% breeze through and the rest of us have a pretty rough time but for only about 7 weeks so in the grand scheme of things that's a mere speed bump in your life's journey. Mind you it's the only thing that has proven a reliable killer to your cancer.

In my experience and mind you I didn't find this site and have the benefits of it's wisdom until post Tx but I was a pretty sick and miserable puppy from about my 4th week of Tx until the 3rd week post Tx. It took all of 2 years post Tx for me to feel almost back to normal and today, 5 years later, it's a distant memory. I would estimate that I have 95% of my taste and saliva back, my thyroid is fried which requires a small daily pill and my hearing was damaged from my chemo but that's it. Oh I'm still alive and plan to be for a very long time.

Was it fun, NO NO and NO again. Would I do it again? YES YES and YES again.

You like so many before you will meet this challenge head on and walk out of that tunnel with a renewed sense of what's life all about.

Visit this site 24/7 as it will be the best part of your Tx and it will help you get through this in endless ways.

Doc, thank you for writing your story. Ross, I concur strongly with everything that's been said on here already, particularly davidcpa, above. And related to your question, ad I headed into my treatment all the advice and info said 'you may experience this, you may experience that' and I finally asked one of the radiation technicians the same question, does anyone get through this without these side effects? and he just shook his head.

I'm 13 months since end of my radiation. I also had three chemotherapy IV sessions (Cisplatin) during my 7-week radiation treatment for tonsil cancer with metastases to my neck lymph system. I, like many, breezed through most of my treatment, but at the end I took a real dive. I may be one of the 10% who had a hard time, as I had some bad mental reactions to something, perhaps the chemo, perhaps some of the pain medications (morphine-like drugs), perhaps to the simple physical beating-up, but in my case it took most of a year before I actually could say I felt "good" again.

EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. This cannot be emphasized enough. I've had side effects that my RO has never heard of (specifically, certain foods trigger neck-muscle spasm/cramping to this day, but it's manageable).

My experience is similar to davidcpa's, but I don't have the thyroid problem (yet, it can take a few years to manifest). Dry mouth, yes, but improving still.

I had many others that I was very worried about, but now have gone away; tinnitus, peripheral neuropathy (numb feet), inability to taste, mouth blisters from anything acidic (tomatoes killed me), neck skin burn, stiff jaw (I still can't open my mouth as wide as before, but I'm luckier than some). Insomnia was one of the worst, initially probably caused by withdrawals from the morphine, but ultimately I don't know, but I slept very very poorly and very very little for a very long time......this was torture. But now I sleep very well!

Mentally, I suffered a strong loss of self confidence, even some claustrophobia, and could NOT face the uncertainty inherent in, say, getting on a commercial jetliner to travel. My libido went out the window, too. I felt OLD.

I'm not trying to scare you, honest, but you need to appreciate that it will be difficult to some degree, and you need to be as prepared as possible. Up your weight while you can, and get as much exercise as you can (while you can). And gather your support team, and if you don't have a good one, hire one. If you don't need them, fine, but if you do, you won't be in any shape to assemble one by then!

I really struggled to eat, and eventually lived mostly on vanilla Ensure. It was very challenging when everything tasted like paste, and I was very upset at losing the ability to enjoy food. I, like the Doc, was determined to not have the PEG feeding tube. It wasn't pride or anything like that. I simply didn't want the experience of anything sticking through my ribs! I did manage to not get the PEG, but I did lose 20 lbs, and starting out "chubby" at 165lbs and 5'7" and small boned, that's a lot to lose, but I figure I had about that much to lose, and am now quite happy with my new 144 lbs, which I am trying to maintain.

Now, just over a year out, I'm in full remission, I've started to exercise again, I'm working again, and I feel good! I've been very fortunate (for someone with cancer, anyway). To look at me, even if you knew me, you might notice that I've lost weight, but that's all. In fact I had an amusing exchange with a suit salesman when I explained that I had lost weight (and needed a new suit). He asked me how I achieved that (very interested for himself) and I had to say, ah, no, you do NOT want to lose weight the way I did!

Good luck. Take heart that there is this option, but it really does seem to be the only real option. I see that you are in Washington (State?). I did my treatment in Vancouver, Canada, just north of that, but now am living in London, England. Let us know how it goes.

Doc, my experiences with staff were somewhat similar. My primary RO was very businesslike, and literally didn't want to see me for two months after my treatment (can't blame him, really, but he was NOT the person to go to for sympathy, which makes some sense). Many of the other staff were fantastic, however, and particularly my nutritionist at the BC Cancer Agency, a true angel.

-Seth

Russ, of course you are nervous about doing radiation. Its only natural to be nervous about the unknown. You will read many things on this forum, no punches are held here. That really is to your advantage to have an idea of what can happen. That is NOT to say you will struggle. Sure, most people do but there are several members who sailed right thru it without many side effects. I returned back to work about 6 weeks after finishing chemo/rads. A positive attitude will help you with getting thru radiation. Preparing for the worst is smart! It does not mean you will have a hard time, it is smart to be ready just in case you have a few issues while going thru treatments.

Best of luck!!!

Russ: you will get through it. As everyone has written, it's a rough ride. But as with everything else in life, time heals. Please keep us posted as you go along. There are always people who have dealt with one specific problem or another and are great sources of information and comfort.

Courage!

Hey I'm now in week five and no it hasn't been easy but I'm getting through it. If I can do it you can! I found the chemo hard but I had reaction to anti sickness So suffered and lost a lot of weight. The rads are bearable I have for the lastday a really dry mouth and sore nose and throat but it's notso bad that I can't bear it. I have had so much help and support on here everyone knows what each other is going through Irvine through . Remember we are here foryou and you can do it. We are all so much stronger than we ever thought we were .
Jayne x

Russ - there are many different reactions and experiences involved with the Rad Tx. My son had a rough time of it but what helped him was following the experiences of others who were going through the same experience and knowing that they were surviving and that he could, too. There are many things you can do about whatever symptoms present themselves. Recently, I've been impressed with those that have tried the Manuka Honey for the sore mouth/throat. When my son was diagnosed the cancer team gave us percentages of survival with the radiation and left it up to my son to decide. He chose the radiation treatment and I'm so glad he did! He's cancer free now and enjoying life! You can, too!

Russ,
chemo and radiation suck to be sure but they beat the hell out of death. You will probably have some side effects but only time will tell to what extent. In my case the side effects were fairly moderate and I am able to get on with my life.