I'm two weeks post treatment today, and everything is fine as they can be. I saw my oncologist on Tuesday, had a prior blood test, all which was in the usual range, although some are out of range as expected, like my hemoglobin dropped to 9.5 from 9.9, but still good enough not to need a blood transfusion or shot, whole CBC is low, although platelets are fine, creatinine 2.1, which has been my new base line for several years, and CEA 2.6 slightly high above the normal range. My doctor takes a CEA tumor marker test, which can be used to monitor head and neck cancer recurrence, but is not a sole indicator.
As far as energy, I have none. I have breathing distress standing for an extended period, my head gets heavy for my neck, which is in the minutes range, and could be partially from the low hemoglobin, treatment, surgeries, high, low blood sugar, but not really new after all the treatments, surgeries, which send you back to where you started. I may, when things settle down, see about PT or just go back to the gym, although I'll ask my doctors fir any restrictions, especially with the carotid artery removal, which reminds me I have to see the cardiologist to do the stress test I canceled.
Taste is still minimal, but for a while during treatment, I could eat spicy foods that was not possible for a few years. Not anymore, so that may be a sign my taste buds are going back to the old new normal lol. Teeth are getting worse, so there at foods I stay away from that are difficult to chew.
My neck is fine, the redness from treatment turned brown, with some skin peeling, nothing raw, probably from wearing a collared shirt rubbing against it, and still using Cetaphil, which I find less greasy, actually none, compared to Aquaphor, I can see a difference in this treatment vs. last year with the same 50Gy, which last year had minimal redness, no browning, skin peel, but is difficult to measure since I had more rads since, but they do say the entry wound with Protons is higher than IMRT. I have an appointment with the Radiation Oncologist in early March.
