I had several follow-ups with my RO, ENT, and Proton Radiologist the past week or so. The first two doctors, who did my carotid artery resection, IORT, were happy to see me post treatment, and still call me miracle man, I guess from not suffering a stroke or death from the several surgeries, procedures, and radiation, and be walking around seemingly unscathed. I guess I'll have to live up to their expectations, and is difficult to complain of anything minor, but my ENT asked about the coughing, change of voice, and said we can deal with that after the scan, which is the collagen injection to the vocal cord. All were happy with my neck healing, and scheduled my three month post treatment PET/CT on May1st, and will see them soon after to go over the results. Knowing myself, I'll probably go in the next day to get the written report, and CD copy of the scan from the outside radiology center. My RO asked about my teeth, and said I was waiting to do HBOT, before the extractions, and said I'll have to wait a few more months for that...meaning after a clear scan.

My taste came back fully two weeks ago, and would say it is on level what it was prior to this last Chemoradiation, meaning it's not great, but doable, and working on my food bucket list, which can be surprising to some even with my tooth loss, and severe trismus, which is about a 12mm mouth opening.

Tomorrow I'll have blood test, and see my MO next week. I bought a wrist BP cuff and see my pressure drops when standing, Orthrostatic Hypotension. Yesterday, it was 115/80, 90 pulse rate while sitting, and upon standing, it dropped to 80/50, 101 pulse rate. This has been gong on for a while, so I feel, and was thinking my bp increases, but instead it drops, and heart rate goes up, even before my last treatment, surgeries, and could be related to dehydration, anemia, medications, combination, and so on, but will mention it to my MO next week, and cardiologist, when I get a chance to see him. I still have to follow-up with my PCP, nephrologist, and Opthomologist since I haven't seen them in several months, but in no rush either to do that.

Attended a SPOHNC meeting, and the guest speaker was a dentist who is a tonsil cancer survivor having gone through the same misdiagnosis as many here, with antibiotics prescription, and spoke about oral care, answered questions. A few things I highlighted, among many things discussed, was recommendation for:

Soft or extra soft tooth brush. brush 3 minutes, 3 times per day gently without a lot of pressure. If you see the bristles start to spread you're brushing too hard.

Fluoride toothpaste, gels are helpful to prevent cavities, and believe Prevident 5000 was mentioned. Using a high pH (9.5) water to rinse with.

Floss, gently flossing 2-3 times per day, after every meal is ideal.

Fluoride Trays, best used immediately before bedtime, and after brushing, flossing. Trays should be left in for 10 minutes being careful not to swallow. You may expectorants any excess saliva. Thoroughly clean and dry try's. Do not eat, rinse or drink after using the trays, and is better to go straight to sleep.

Physical Therapy, if you have bern given muscle or jaw exercises or massage, or Therabite has been prescribed, try to comply.

Things to Avoid, alcohol. Including mouthwashes, caffeinated beverages, acidic, spicy or salty foods, chips, and other carbohydrates that might stick to your teeth.

See you dentist 3-4 times a year for examination, cleaning, and consider fluoride varnish.