Hang in there! I am almost 2 months past rads and am feeling much better. I had a terrible time with nutrition. I am lactose intolerant so any milk based supplement was a no go as were milk shakes. The last day of my treatment I immediately embarked on a trip (not a good idea but was planned) which consisted of a flight halfway across country and a road trip back home. By then I was taking pain meds consistantly and the mucositis was a constant issue. Anyway, during the trip back I came to the conclusion that I had to supplement with some Boost or Ensure and I would take some Lactaid and see how it went. I did ok, still not enough but ok. In the end I lost 30 pounds and my energy was nil, but it has slowly come back. I am eating normally now but after a few bites food doesn't taste good so I don't eat much. The mucous is still there in the back of my throat and is really hard to get out now so I still have some irritation when swallowing. The burn on my neck healed rather quickly but now a new sensitivity just started on the skin of my upper shoulders and back of my neck. Don't know if that is related to the radiation or something else though. Right now I feel almost normal and my energy is much better. You might ask your doctor for the lidocaine rinse for your throat so you can eat and drink more comfortably until it heals more. I have seen my radiation oncologist and my ENT and everything is looking good, the RO didn't even think I would need a PET scan in the future but my ENT does, in about 2 months, I will go with his advice, can't hurt! I thought that when treatment ended I would quickly recover and be back to normal. But after reading many posts here I found out that is probably not the case. Recovery can be many months or longer and we just have to be patient. So here's hoping that you will begin to feel better much sooner than later.


Diagnosed 11/17 SCC right side of tongue
Surgery 2/18 Partial Glossectomy
Radiation 3/18 - 5/18
Clear PET scan 10/18
Non smoker, occasional alcohol use