You guys have been great with your responses. But I see you're mostly tonsil patients. I had a partial glossectomy so My problem is getting that tongue in working order. So far ( as I haven't started radiation yet) everything tastes as it should. I crossed a mini milestone this week too -- I am now able to drink water ... not huge amounts at one time..no chugging from a mug just yet. But to take a couple of sips of cold water and have it go the right way is just heaven. I've also noticed that carbonated beverages work well too -- as I've said I won't start radiation until May 13th so stinging isnt a problem for me. This morning I took a small plastic cup and filled it half with perrier and half with tap water to reduce the fizziness and put it in the freezer until it was starting to get icy. A couple of sips of that was pretty darn refreshing. Well, off to do my tongue exercises!

hi Tiz,

Aussie lamb is what i go for because US lamb lacks taste (to me anyway). Lamb is a favorite choise because it is greese. we don't get much lamb from the UK.

meat here in the US is being raised to minimize fat, so the beef and pork tend to be dryer than it was a few decades ago... and this doesn't please me because greese food is easier to eat. sometimes i add olive oil to hamburger, boy does that make for better cooking and eating.

i also use the fork and knife to reduce my chewing. with a piece of meat held by fork, i cut between each section to make the pieces small...since i've had my esophogas stretched, if the meat is of better quality (greeser), i don't need to do as much work with the knife.

my blood work is ok because i'm on meds (zocor and zetia) which have my numbers well into the healthy range.. so the docs let me eat anything i want... lots of ice cream and greese meat are good for me... well it's lunch time.

what i need is a greese steak from Ed in Texas.

gone for a greese burger and chocolate milk shake,
cu,
larryb

Some of my miltestone moments:

1. When my friends rallied around me at the news of diagnosis.

2. The first chemo treatment. I took one look at the hospital bed and it finally hit home emotionally that I had cancer.

3. The third week of chemo when I lost my hair. (It was long, brown and curly) I began to look and feel like a cancer patient.

4. Coming home after the last chemo treatment and could say to myself that I'm half way through my treatment plan.

5. My first time under the mask for radiation treatment and it was all I could do to supress my panic at being totally helpless.

6. The second week of radiation when I lost my sense of taste completely. But my hair was starting to grow back.

7. When the blessed last day of treatment arrived and I was finally able to ring the bell and let the world know that I had completed that phase of the journey.

8. About four weeks post-treatment when I was beginning to regain my sense of taste -- pure joy!

9. My six week post treatment follow up, when the docs declared me in remission.

10. When I could finally really taste the enchiladas from my favorite tex-mex eatery.

11. My first haircut after it grew back, albeit with much more gray.

These are just snippets, but I hope you get the idea. There are many, many more. It's been a remarkable experience to put it mildly.

-Brett

Thanks Brett
Just the post I needed to read tonight.. feeling down and apprehensive over a coming appointment on Friday... I know the best sinario is more laser surgery..(which they told me was to be last week and then cancelled) and also know the worse sinario.. so thanks.. I will try to remember all that.. milestones from laser surgery are just bumps in the road compared to that list.. well done.. I'm sure there will be more to add to your list later...
love and hugs
Helen

Brett - about 2 weeks before my surgery, I met with another patient who had the same operation at the same hospital with the same surgeon. The first thing he told me was, "You will find out how many people truly care about you." He was right!

Hi Cathy, I wrote about eating the caramel popcorn..finally ate enough of it that I lost a filling...have dental appt tomorrow....SMILE!! Anyway....I had 1/2 of my tongue removed in May 2002, neck dissection (2 lymph nodes positive for cancer), forearm flap and 35 radiation treatments. The radiation towards the end of the 7 weeks was no picnic for me, but I think a big part of my problem was I didn't take enough of the pain medication (morphine). My brother was diagnosed with testicular cancer 4 years earlier (age 40) and actually became dependent upon the morphine he was given in the hospital during chemo. He stayed in the hospital for 4 months due to leg swelling and blood clots, I am happy to say he survived all that and is alive and well today. So, my advice would be to take your pain medication, you will get through it fine. If you want to email me, you can reach me at [email protected]. God Bless You, Stay Strong!

Cathy,

I had a near total glossectomy with a free flap reconstruction. I have to manuever my food with a chopstick or a baby spoon to the back of my throat and then I use water to wash it down. Before radiation I was able to swallow pretty well, but after is a different story. Be agressive about your exercises during radiation. I wasn't and I lost function. Sometimes I'll have to throw my head back a bit to swallow, be careful that the food is small and well chewed or you'll get choked. Let me know if I can help in any other way.

Brett,
I cried when I rang the bell. Not because I was sad.

Lynn

Hey Larry, I had the Fisher's popcorn. I watched my sister's fiance's puppy for the weekend and the Fisher's was a thank you present!!!!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I truly never thought I could eat it again but I managed just fine. I am about 2 1/2 hours from OC, where are you? Carol

Hey Cathy,
Dan had a little more than 1/3 tongue removal and he was back talking great and eating pretty good until the recurrance. He had a PEG put in first week of chemo/rad and started using it completely after 3rd week of treatment. He couldn't swallow anything from then until about now (2 months post treatment). He lost his voice for over 6 weeks, but it is coming back good now. He has a little trouble with t's and d's, but doing pretty good talking. He has just started to be able to drink a little water by mouth, although it makes him cough a lot. He also has had a few pudding cups...that's it so far. I just picked up some "Thick-It" from the pharmacy to make things a bit thicker. He can't stand it in water, because thick water is weird. But I have put it in milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast and he was able to get a little of that down.
You are in my prayers as you begin radiation. Dan had 8 weeks worth. It was very hard towards the end, but he always took him meds and slept alot, which he needed. Use the things they give you like mouthwash to help with pain.

Take care and God Bless,
Debbie

You're right Debbie - THick It weird in water but I mixed up a quart using 3/4 water and 1/4 peach juice so that it's more a flavoured water. Give that a try, It might not be so bad. Thanks everyone for your prayers. I start radiation a week tomorrow -- I'll keep you posted.