Hello to everyone, and thank you all for such a wonderfully supportive forum. I am now 7 months post treatment for LBOT SCC HPV16+, and doing well. I found this site as I was beginning to get past the worst of the treatment effects and found answers to all my questions. I usually spend so much time reading posts here that I end up too tired to get my thoughts together to do this introduction, but I thought it was time to put that right and join the community.

My worst problem during treatment was mucositis giving me very painful mouth ulcers made worse by thrush, so I was unable to eat for several weeks, (very relieved to have a gastric tube). My return to normal eating seems to be a slow process. I still have a dry mouth and swallowing is difficult so I�m still mainly on juiced fruit/veg, soups and smoothies and a couple of Fortisp (similar to Ensure) bottles a day. I do make myself eat small portions of more solid food each day washed down with lots of water. In the last month tastes have improved a lot so some foods are becoming more enjoyable, but I would say that eating is still more of a chore than a pleasure. I lost about 30 lbs from when my eating problems started when my back teeth were removed. This has brought me down to a nice size that I am very happy with, top edge of normal BMI. I have managed to stabilise at that only through carefully calculating my intake using the MyFitnessPal app on my phone. Without that I would never remember to eat enough. I am now trying to increase my exercise levels which does make upping my food intake more challenging.

I have a wonderful partner who was able to take time off to be at home with me while I was going through treatment. We were both able to keep a fairly positive attitude to dealing with it, mainly by not dwelling on the negative thoughts and taking each day at a time. I have learnt an awful lot about how much family, friends and workmate care about me and about appreciating my life. A book that has really helped me is �Anticancer: a new way of life� by David Servan-Schreiber. I learnt so much from it so would recommend it to anyone new to facing the horror of cancer. In fact I have a few friends who have now read it who are not facing it themselves but are interested in a healthier lifestyle.

I am back at work part time and my energy levels are pretty good. So all in all I am feeling pretty lucky with my life. Though when I�m tired in the evening I do still get upset when food insists on sticking in my throat needing several mouthfuls of water to wash down! But I�m hoping there is still time for more improvement on the eating front. I am also beginning to eye up what others are eating with jealousy, which I take as a good sign that my interest in food is returning!

I have been very encouraged by the amazing stories of others here, so I hope I can help to provide some encouragement to other who find there way to this forum.

Sally