First day went just as nurses had educated us to expect, which was nice. The process was demystified.
Chemo ran long, but I had no discomfort during, just sleepy from the Benadryl. That made my radiation appointment late, so it was a long day. Wife and I walked a mile and a half on the rooftop track at our apartment complex after sundown last night. Appetite was good.
Tummy was OK last night, but awoke at 3 a.m. with a sensation more like heartburn than nausea. Took a Compazine and was glad I did. Next 10 minutes were a bit unsettled, but the medicine and some Hindu chants my sister taught me calmed it down. (I will use any tool that seems sure to not be able to hurt me, like chanting. Millions of people do it and it gives them peace. Serenity prayer is great, too.)
I've had some issues since my intraoral biopsies and tonsillectomy with caffeine headaches. I am drinking less coffee and no soda, so sometimes in the middle of the night, I get that dull ache. Half a cup seems to fix it.
Other issue: The taste buds at the back of my tongue suddenly enlarged about 10 days ago. Dentists and oncology nurses aren't sure why. Doesn't hurt, but it's weird. Anyone heard of that post tonsillectomy or associated with this cancer? If you're going to say it can be a sign of lung cancer, please say nothing at all. I read that in one reference on the Internet, and I am choosing to wait and see what the treatment team says before I freak out about that. My PET was clear in June other than two tiny nodules in the chest area that all the docs say are quite common and likely not a sign of metatastis but that we'll have to watch going forward.
I just got back from a predawn, very slow, 3-mile jog. Highlight of my last 24 hours.


Randy, Stage 3 tonsil SCC, node involvement, HPV-positive. 7 sessions of Taxol-Carboplatin, 35 rads finished 9/8/10. Post-TX PET and CT 12/1 showed "no metabolic evidence of residual or recurrent disease." Yay!