Very appropriate that Alex finished his treatment on Daffodil day. Steve finished his treatment on daffodil day last year so we just passed the 1 year mark.

I can't believe you haven't been told about Fentanyl patches yet. Steve was using them before he even began his treatment. His doctor gave him them as soon as we arrived in NSW. They work well. Steve never went over 37mg on his dose and he weened off them very easily (low dose probably helped) but they made a massive difference in his pain levels.

So glad to hear you both have gotten through the treatment. Also glad to see you could still appreciate the beauty throughout this. Watching the sun rise over the opera house would be spectacular. Take all the beautiful moments you can. They are there but sometimes we just have to look a bit for them. It's a rough road and the recovery process goes on for a long time.

Take care, both of you. Happy to see your sense of humour is still there. Steve chose not to speak too much after treatment ended also as it was painful. It didn't last long though. A week of no treatment and he was feeling much better.

Wendy


Wife to Steve 43. DX 5 May 09. T4N2MO SCC tongue, floor of mouth, lymph nodes & jaw bone
No surgery
radiation 13/07/2009 x 7wks
chemo 15/07/2009 x 3 Cisplatin
last TX 28/08/2009
25/11/2009 PET-lymph node activity.
08/01/2010 CT Scan-ALL CLEAR
03/03/2010-Peg removed
01/2013 left side of Jaw removed and replaced with pectoral flap.
23/12/2020 scan show lesion in tongue
01/2021 SCC stage 3 base of tongue diagnosed
01/03/2021 chemotherapy started.
17/03/22 lost the battle. Missed dearly