"Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) Joined: Sep 2008 Posts: 711 | Having you for a caregiver gives your sister a big "leg up" on fighting this beast. To answer your question, it is the radiation that makes it so difficult to swallow. I didn't have surgery, had rad and chemo. The radiation basically cooks everything in it's path, it's like a microwave oven ( I know that sounds terrible but we do what's necessary to beat cancer) and I had to have a feeding (PEG) tube as I could barely swallow water, so if radiation is decided , get her to eat as much as she can of everything she likes, It may be a while before she can eat anything again. For some it's a couple of months, for me it was 18 months of nothing but Ensure Plus and fruit smoothies. But then, I was 60 years old when all this started. Her youth will, hopefully, wo9rk in her favor as she recovers.
David R. 65 yr old male non-smoker, light drinker, stage 3 or 4, depending on which doc you ask, scc rt. tonsil, 2 nodes, 7 weeks radiation and chemo. No surgery. Teatment ended 3/20/08. PET scan 8/08 showed no cancer. And now, as of oct, 2010, caregiver to wife, Linda, with breast cancer. May, 2013, Linda diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. Enuf already.
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