Many head and neck cancer patients are treated by irradiation. This treatment can take a heavy emotional and physical toll. A manuscript that presents my personal experiences as a physician undergoing radiation therapy for throat cancer was just published in Support Care Cancer. The manuscript can be obtained at
http://bit.ly/mTp1EyI describe the physical and emotional effects of the radiation treatment and how I coped with them. The side effects that emerged during of the radiation treatment included: fatigue, mental cloudiness, pain and dryness in my throat, food aversion, inability to taste, skin burning around the neck. It is my hope that both patients and health care providers will benefit from reading my personal story.
