Outstanding Theresa - I remember how good it felt to finish that last treatment too, it was 4 months ago almost to the day. I just wish they had a bell to ring; I would have brought a sledge hammer to hit it with, probably would have broken it in half.

Like you said, the side effects will stick around for awhile; some of them might get a little worse before they get better because of all the accumulated damage the radiation has done to your body. But, as you said they will improve in time. Sadly the time is always longer than we want, and some of them like loss of taste for food and mouth/throat dryness and tenderness can be persistent little buggers.

I bought and use a humidifier every night while sleeping; that has helped a lot with throat dryness, which can be bad enough it will wake you up in the middle of the night. Keeping a water bottle within arms reach at all times (including in the car) is also pretty much a necessity. There's nothing that feels better in the morning to that dry throat than a cup of coffee. I've tried all the Biotene products (original formula) and they didn't help that much, but chewing Trident gum did (that xylitol sweetener seems to do the trick).

If you also develop dry sinuses or dry sinus drainage that seems really hard to get out of your throat a NeilMed sinus rinse bottle (Walmart) works wonders. Some people use a Nettie Pot, but I like the squirt bottle better. I use it every morning and evening. At first it's gross, you'll choke and cough and make a mess, but it does make the sinuses feel better (and you will breath better too).

Again, congrats on the treatment completion. Now you're ready to move on to the After Treatment forum.

Tony