My wife has taken 12 of 33 rad treatments after surgery for t4 tumnor in right jaw and floor of month. when did side effects of treatment start for others. She has had all of the problems that i have seen on this site. Does get any better.

Hey Tedebear,
Sorry to hear what your wife and you are going through. My husband started chemo/rad Jan. 12 and he has three more rads to go. It has been a tough road, but he has made it. Starting feeding thru the PEG tube about 3 weeks into it. Sores and blisters in mouth and throat and neck outside cracked and bleeding. What has helped get through it the most is taking the meds right on time and a great support system through God and our church. I have such a hard time watching him suffer. It seems like we have been in a bubble and life has just stopped except for cancer treatments and making it through each day. But almost done and he has had 40 rad treatments at the max.
I will keep you in my prayers...everyone is different. Some here I have read have had very little effects during treatments, others like Dan have had more. Try and keep her eating good. Dan started taking in little food thru the PEG and they almost had to stop treatment, get him healed more, and then start again. It does happen, but not the best way to go.

Take care,
Debbie

Tedebear,
Yes it does get better - about 4-6 weeks after completion of radiation. By the end of a year she should be almost back to normal. Radiation is no walk in the park. I can only imagine what was in my wifes thoughts as I was going through this. Usually you won't be dealing with all of the side effects at the same time. I was fortunate that my neck only had a sunburn effect. It was the first thing to heal. The last was the back of my throat where the radiation was targeted.

Try to keep fluid and nutrition up -that will make healing faster. Be watchful for secondary infections like thrush. Be sure to have adequate pain medications. Stay away from sick people and carefully disinfect all living areas (especially the kitchen and bathroom). These things will help mitigate the side effects.

Keep a daily journal of food and water intake, medications, temperature, side effects, pain, etc.

Keep in constant contact with the primary doctor or advice nurse if you have access to one. See the nutritionist weekly if you aren't already.

Hi Tedebear, I had 48 rounds of radiation to my left tonsil and both sides of the neck. The whole neck was burnt with blood. This happened when I had undergone about 30 rounds. Like Gary, the healing of the neck was the fastest but the burning still leaves a very obvious mark on my left shoulder and I don't think it will ever disappear.Doesn't bother me too much as I can use a small scarf to cover it. Another side effect is the loss of voice which lasted about a month. It was so hoarse that people could hardly understand me even if they were very close to me. I was worried that I could never have my voice back but I was wrong because today I can still teach my students though I must use a microphone. Another disturbing side effect was the presence of a lot of mucus with blood. I had to consume a lot of tissues during the time. This lasted over a month then the amount of mucus decreased gradually. At this point of time, I felt my dry mouth irritating me.Sore throat, tongue ulcers were painful and caused difficulty in swallowing. I forced myself to drink water, soup and eat congee and icecream.Nutrition is very important at this stage. I started my new normal 7 months post treatment. Family support is absolutely essential during and after treatment.

Karen stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01.

Hi Tedebear,
I also had a T4 tumor on my left jaw that was treated with surgery and radiation. Surgery was April 16, 2003 and I ended radiation about 8 months ago. I am doing quite well today and it continues to get better.
I started having radiation side effects about 3 weeks or so into treatment. I lost my taste first then developed mucocitis that causes sores on my tongue, cheeks and gums.
It is all very bearable and your wife CAN get through it.
Minnie

My side effects started about the 20th of my 47 doses of Rad. I had to use the PEG from then on.

I was also getting chemo @ the time & told the side effects are more severe w/the combined therapies.

I didn't have any exterior burns even though I'm a fair-skinned redhead. Mouth pain didn't pester me until 40th treatment & took 15mm of Hydrocodone(sp?) @ 5pm so I could fall sleep comfortably. After the final treatment I needed the med for about 5 days afterwards.

The mucus was a nuisance. I felt like I had a cold that continued for weeks. But it does end & I'm in the early stage of eating again.