OK here is my 2 cents worth: When ever my neck feels different or "worse" I take a large dose of vitimin E. I will NOT tell you that vitimin E is the cure (because I still have a rather big scar ) but it seems to help for me. Interesting to note that E is oily. Perhaps Larry is on to something...Of course olive oil is good for you anyway.

You guys could be on to something here with the "oil" idea. (Olive oil and Vitamin E). Hey, like the (proverbial) chicken soup - it couldn't hurt! John does take 2 Vitamin E capsules a day, but maybe I'll start slipping in some olive oil into his breakfast too...if nothing else, like you mentioned Mark...it is healthy and good for you!

OK while we're on the home remedies..... among the many things that my wife rubbed on my trashed neck, was vitamin E, not a lotion, but the contents of capsules ment to be taken orally. You wouldn't believe the change it produced. It won't hurt anything, and topical application to those scars while they were healing seemed to speed things up and the resulting scar is VERY small. ( OK it's a foot long, but I mean it isn't bulgeing or swollen and raised.)

Since John gets plenty of Vitamin E capsules from the VA, not only will I continue to give him the capsules 2X a day, but I think I will try the opened capsules and apply the oil directly onto his neck. And if at all possible - I will sneak in some olive oil into his food as much as I can. I wonder if taking "any" kind of oil capsule would help - such as cod liver oil or any type of fish oil? With all this oil on him/in him - I'm going to have to call the clean-up crew from the Exxon Valdez!

There is more to this than meets the eye...it isn't just about oil. So the caveat, oils are fats. If you want to ingest them, only mono saturated please. That would be olive as an example. Consuming other types won't have the same benefits. Also you want to get those that have omega 3's. Good fish oils have them, but many of the cheaper capsules are full of contaminants. A safe alternative is Flax Seed oil, again available as a capsule. When you really want to get picky about what is good and not for you. take a look at the labels on all the stuff that you put in your mouth. No saturated fats, they play hell with your cardiovascular system over the years, and no hydrogenated fats which have been linked to cancers. This subject could take up a whole chapter in a book. This is just a starting point.

Good point Brian....there are certainly some oils/fats that are obviously not good for anyone - at least not in large amounts. The point about flax seed oil is well taken. A prominant "natural health" doctor (whom I won't name) touts the benefits of flax seed for other purposes as well...especially beneficial for men and helping to keep the prostate healthy. He also did mention omega-3 oils too. I will look into this at my local nutrition center. Thanks for the good advice!

In addition to the hardness of my neck, my voice also got hoarse, do you have similar experience ? Or this hoarse voice is something that should be checked out with ENT ?


Thanks

WZ... anytime there is a chnage of significance like in your voice becoming hoarse for a prolonged period of time you should have it checked out. In my own case this happens sporadically when I lecture, but if it is happening for no good reason, and it is not going away after a day or so, you should have it checked out.

Thanks Brian, I will make an appointment with my ENT right away to have it checked out.

On a seperate note, I remember one of the comemnts you made about the recovery from radiation treatment that for each week of radiaiton treatment, one needs a month to recover. I felt this is very true.

My Rad ended Nov 2002, I noticed last month (May) the lymphedema/swell under my chin/cheek is finally gone. But, it was since then that I felt the hardness of my neck started to get worse and my voice started to change. I am wondering if these events are related or there is something else that is developing.

My neck is still hard 5 years out. The fact is all those fatty tissues had to go with the neck dissection, and the body is disinclined to put more back there. If you have been hoarse since treatment and this is not something new, this could be nothing more than scar tissue on your larynx, also a problem that I had for an extended period after radiation. Survivorship is synonymous with vigilance. It never hurts to have an educated eye check you out.