Platinum Member (300+ posts) Joined: Nov 2009 Posts: 493 | I was pretty self-conscious about my appearance, too. In fact, when my neck really got bad due to the radiation, I couldn't bring myself to even look in the mirror. Even now, I think that I look sort of lopsided, but everybody else thinks I look terrific. I was at the cancer center last week for a check-up and one of the people who had worked with me commented on how great I look. The worst thing was just a few weeks after I completed my treatments, I had to get my drivers licence renewed, so my picture on it is a constant reminder of how far I have come. If you just had surgery with no radiation or chemo, you will bounce back much faster.
Female, nonsmoker, 70, diag. 5/09 after tongue biopsy: stage IV. Left hemi-gloss. and left selec. neck disec. 30 lymph nodes removed May 20. Over 7 weeks daily rads. with three chemo. PEG removed 12/4/09 Am eating mostly soft foods. Back to work 11/09 Retired 4/1/11. 7 clear scans! Port out 9/11. 2/13. It's back: base of tongue, very invasive surgery involving lifestyle changes. 2/14: Now speaking w/Passey-Muir valve. Considering a swallow study. Grateful to be alive.
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