As I am reading this thread today, I suddenly realized this is the 10th anniversary of my last radiation treatment. How happy I was. Over at last. No more getting up at 7:00 am to get strapped to a table at 8:30. I slept in as usual. I had arranged this early am schedule so I could continue to work during radiation. Day 9, I went down for the count.

My sister had come up on Thanksgiving with bag of groceries of things she hoped I could eat, most of which were off the menu for another two months, but she tried. Her new boyfriend was taking her to a fine French restaurant, she would order her usual salmon, no sauce (could we swap places please? I think I could find food I can eat). My Thanksgving meal that year was coffee and butter pecan Ensure Plus.

There was no oral cancer foundation to get me through this. I had never even heard of oral cancer before I was diagnosed. I had no idea I was supposed to sick for several weeks after radiation nor did anyone tell me this. My doctors were very positive that that they gotten it under control so I let them worry about a reoccurence rather than me. I was seeing them so often that if there was problem, it would be caught early.

Yes I hit another bump in the road 4 years out which cost me my voice box and am now a total laryngectomee but that didn't alter my life very much. Actually it allowed me to eat more.

I want to thank Brian for this marlvelous web site. Having gone though this twice without any kind of support, I truly know how important this site is to others which is precisely why he founded it.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgving. Chin up, you can do this.

Take care,
Eileen