Hi,
My name is Bobbie and I am a 62 year old female who found out about my cancer in April. I had swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck. I went to the ENT and he sent me for a needle biopsy which came back positive but they weren't sure where the primary was. I was then sent to the hospital to look down the throat better and perform a biopsy. They did a biopsy of the right tonsil and found cancer. This ENT thought that I should just have radiation. I then visited with another ENT and he suggested surgery then radiation and perhaps chemo.

I had the surgery on May 25, 2003. They removed 26 lymph nodes and the tonsil. They found the cancer in 2 nodes the largest being 5.7 cm. the cancer of the tonsil was near the margin so they suggested chemo and radiation. They also suggested a peg tube and port which I had done.

I started the treatments july 1, 2003. I had 39 radiation and 7 chemo. My last treatment was Sept. 2, 2003. About half way through I was so burned on the outside of my neck they had to stop treatment for a week so I could rest and heal some.

It's been 9 weeks and I am still not able to eat anything more than baby cereal and some soups as my throat is so sore. I still don't have much taste and my mucos problem is still pretty severe. How much longer is all this going to last? I have heard the mucos problem could last for sometime perhaps months??? When can I expect some taste to come back???

Does anyone know of a support group in the Ft Worth area? Preferably in the HEB or Grapevine area?

Thanks for your help.