Erik, Hi and welcome to the Forum. You can learn a great deal about our type of cancer here on this web site - both here in the posts, and on the information blogs.

Your experience in treatment will be uniquely yours. Each of us goes through it a slightly different way, though there are some things you can likely expect. Your chemo will likely both weaken and dehydrate your body, so nutrition and fluids are a constant challenge. The slogan in our chemo room was "Double your fluid intake - cut your symptoms in half." It was true for me.

Keeping your weight up is pretty important and can be quite challenging. If you are going to get a peg tube - get it sooner than later and use it. Swallowing might well become very difficult - if not impossible during treatment. Be prepared for that.

Your body isn't going to like the cancer treatment. The drugs and radiation are designed to kill the cancer and not you. For some, its a near thing. You will be weak, tired, occasionally confused, often frightened and possibly in some pain. The radiation is cumulative so the symptoms from it tend to grow. Some experience a lot of burns, others not. Most experience dry mouth, sore throat, stiff neck and swelling. Its no fun. However, most of the bad stuff is pretty temporary. We here have beaten the beast and there are many of us. You can do it too.

The hardest part of the treatment for me was the loneliness. My family and friends were around me, but the chemo recliner only seats one. The radiation table is for one. So much time for private thoughts, fears and questions. Oh, how I wish I had known about this site when I was in treatment. If your experience is at all like mine, you will have questions at times when there is no one knowledgeable to ask. Come here.

You can win this fight. Get multiple opinions about everything. Hire the best docs you can find. Question everything. Take notes. Make them tell you about all your options before you 'buy' any option. Being afraid is smart. Crying and feeling lost occasionally are both smart. Being passive is dumb. Not being extremely involved in your own care is dumb. Getting depressed makes sense. Doing nothing about being depressed doesn't. Letting your family and friends help you is smart. 'Toughing' your way through this with "I'm ok." is dumb.

Please come here often and share your experience with us. It will help you, it helps us, and it may help someone new. Get mad about this. Get focused and motivated. Fight hard. Be strong. We are with you. Tom