In general I can't talk anymore. Not because it hurts to talk, but because my mouth is always so full if spit. Is this common? How lomg after treatment should I expect to start getting back to normal?

P.S. One of my jobs is to speak at industry events. My next one I still have slated for April 7th. Is this a pipe dream given I'll be done with treatments on the 17th of February?

Re the speaking, it all depends on how you respond. Most of us were just crawling out of our dark tunnels around that time and were just beginning to feel as if the worse was finally over and we were also pretty weak with horrific dry mouth but remember there are exceptions and lets hope you are one of the few that bounces back quicker. For me the 3 weeks post Tx were, by far, my worse.

Re the excess spit, that only lasted a few weeks for me and then the dry mouth set in. I also totally lost my voice (or at least it was so uncomfortable to open my mouth and speak) for about a week but that was towards the end of Tx and didn't last until the timeframe you are wondering about.

Tom:

Unfortunately things usually get much worse before they get better especially as treatments progress. The spit will turn into very thick mucous which is difficult to deal with. Then will come dry mouth. As David mentioned, losing your voice is a common thing alot of us went thru. For me it was about 3 weeks of using a dry erase board, my kids loved it.

Its not going to be easy making plans so close to the end of finishing your tx. At 6 weeks out I was still in pretty bad shape but did go back to work only part time with light duty. I think by going back to work so soon it made it harder for me to recover. Mentally it worked wonders being around people helped lift my spirits, but it wore me out. After my recurrance, I was completely wiped out and that was only treated with surgery.

Hang in there, tx can be brutal, fatigue is a long lasting post tx side effect. Honestly, cant advise you on if you will be able to do the speach. Everyone recovers at their own pace, most arent ready to be working at 6 weeks post tx. Might want to get yourself a dependable backup speaker just in case you arent up to it.

Tom,

We all recover at different paces. I finished txs 11-4-08 and the following 3 to 4 weeks was horrible. Presently, I can get out of the house and do errands and such, but, anything physical kind of beats me up. I do seem to have aches and pains I never had before or if I did they are definitely magnified since tx. As for talking some days are better then others. And my nutrition is through VHC and soups; although, my taste is getting a lot better...I just have to get use to the texture. Thick mucous, gagging, loss of speech(3 1/2 weeks), sore mouth, sore jaw, dry mouth, no facial hair, liquid diet, lost 45 to 50 pounds--I was pretty much a text book example before, during and after tx.

I wouldn't think about April, that's too far away...just take it day-by-day in baby-steps for the time being. Concentrate on getting through these txs.

I believe April will come in the next century -- Too far out for planning purposes!

Yes the first year will seem like forever but as my wife likes to tell me....stop your whining and get over it. lol