Howdy all,

I'm ending week six tomorrow. My last IMRT tx is Dec 15th. I sleep okay, have mild/moderate fatigue, I haven't used any pain meds yet (percocet and Magic mouthwash). I've lost about 10 pounds since the start (at 178 now) although I think it's mostly muscle shrinkage as I still have a little bit of a pouch.

I have really forced myself (stubborn german that I am) to stay hydrated and Carnation VHC fed. I've also kept my mouth very clean, brushing often, fluoride trays, VERY CAREFUL floss every few days, salt/baking soda water gargle 3-5 times a day which helps my throat when it starts barking at me.

I make myself walk every day for about 20-30 minutes. Before each Rad tx (this is where I go off the reservation) I was slowly eating organic honey and sloshing it around my mouth 15 min before and after radiation. This until the 4th week when the honey stung my throat so bad it brought me shaking to my knees.

Also picked up zen meditation although I am still only working on observing my breathing (concentration technique).

I'm posting this for two reasons:

1) A statistical data point. Maybe this provides insight or a clue for others. I went to a 2nd opinion Otolaryngologist in DC and she was shocked at how well I was handling tx. She reassured me--looking at the rad marks on my head and neck--that the treatment field looks great.

I asked her is it something that I was doing that maybe others can learn from, she said "Quite frankly, no, it's luck." I'm posting what I've done anyway in case it helps others.

2) So that new C-fighters who are reviewing these posts can know that they may not necessarily have too horrible a time.

DavidCPA was invaluable in letting me know that about 20% of people going through tx may not suffer too badly. Thanks to him, I DID brace myself for the worst. I also determined to try to do everything to make the crapstorm hit me as late in tx as possible.

Not that it's a picnic. I DO have mucositis back near the R tonsil area. No taste sense, sore neck, skin peeling on my neck a little, church bell sized tinitis in my ears, partial (very high-end as of now) hearing loss.

I hope this helps in some way.