I have finished three rounds of Cisplatin, Taxotere and 5-FU. The oncologist actually lowered the cisplatin my second round and then cut it out entirely for the third round. I got unplugged from the 5-FU last Friday and I just want to feel better again. I want to be able to eat again. In between rounds, since I had 2 weeks off, my mouth sores would heal and my throat would open up a bit so that I could have some soups, smoothies, Ensure, etc.. But I want to get beyond that. I've had the feeding tube in since December and I imagine it will come out next month. I just wish my throat didn't feel like it was the size of a straw. How long did your throats take to open up again? I had a lime-sized tumor at the base of my tongue so only the radiation and chemo could wipe it out. Is it just scar tissue and inflammation? Forget about not tasting much, it's this damn inflammation that makes eating unappetizing. Unless it's baby food consistency I'm going nowhere near anything that feels like it will get caught. I made the mistake of trying a tortilla chip, even washed down with water. It totally got stuck and I had I had to make myself puke it up. Sigh.


10/2/12 Surgery Dx Stage II SCC RLT
11/12/12 Further tongue resec and SND. 3 of 22 lymph + SCC Stage IVa
11/22/12 Hospitalized for infection incision at neck
12/5/13 PET scan tumor at BOT
12/26/12-2/27/13 RT and Cisplatin
4/1/13-5/17/13 3 rounds of Cisplatin, Taxotere and 5-FU
7/19/13 Pet Scan possible recurrence
8/23/13 2nd op at MSKCC, CT Scan
8/31/13 MRI. Both show sizeable mass
9/11/13 CT-guided needle BX + SCC
10/1/13 Erbitux, Cisplatin and Taxotere
2/14/14 Passed away