Welcome to OCF, Brad!

Im very sorry to read what you have been thru! Being 8 weeks post rads, the worst is finally behind you. The recovery phase seems to take forever to get thru. As patients, we can never get well as quickly as we think we should. A complete recovery from oral cancer (OC) treatments takes a full 2 years. Patients in recovery can expect ups and downs plus an occasional set back. About all anyone can do to get thru it the easiest way possible is to focus on whats within your control... your intake! Even though you have already finished your treatments 2 months ago, theres still a long road until you hit the finish line. As you are recovering, on a daily basis you need at least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water to help your body rebuild itself. You may want to add some high protein whey powder to add more protein to your intake but check with your doc before making any changes or adding even something thats over the counter.

You certainly sound like you have learned alot about opioid pain meds. Thank you for giving everyone so much info about pain meds and info about discontinuing them along with a link to a reputable resource. Being new, you may not know our forum is made up of (OC) patients/survivors and caregivers who do not have medical backgrounds or degrees. This conversation is something we havent had much of on here but your post brings it out which helps to educate us all about a topic that many here should be aware of. OCF always advises everyone to seek out their own physician when it comes to asking individual case-specific questions or if they need more info.

Many OC patients/survivors and caregivers struggle with anxiety. Having anxiety is perfectly understandable after the barbaric treatments and major surgeries we have been thru. Many will need some help talking to a therapist and/or taking meds to temporarily keep their anxiety under control. Depression is very common among OC patients as well. Most treatment facilities have therapists or a specialist that regularly talks with cancer patients and/or caregivers to help them better adjust to everything they're going thru. Being diagnosed with cancer can be a traumatic experience by itself and for some it gets even more difficult after they hear those dreaded words... "you have cancer". Anxiety or any other mental/physical problem that comes up after being diagnosed is perfectly normal and is not anything to be ashamed of. Many have found help with coping just by using our online forum and interacting with other OC patients/survivors and caregivers. We all have been thru some very difficult days/nights. We thoroughly understand where everyone here is coming from, what they're dealing with and how hard its been.

Our site is made up of GREAT people from all over the world who have a common bond created by a horrendous disease. We're here to help each other to succeed and make everything as easy as possible. Best wishes with your continued recovery!!!