I am so very sorry to hear your mother is suffering so much!!!! Hearing about your mother instantly takes me back 12 years to when I was newly out of rads and suffered some of the worst and most painful days of my life. Im going to be completely honest with you about what recovery really is like for most OC patients.

Unfortunately, the rad doctor saying your mother will be fine in a week is NOT true! Its not even a teeny tiny bit of a fib, its completely false!!! Im actually surprised to hear a doctor saying that to the caregiver of an OC patient! It was explained in great detail to me several years ago that patients need a month of recovery for every week of rads they go thru. Radiation continues to work for weeks after finishing radiation treatments. Almost all OC patients begin to struggle after the third or 4th week of their radiation treatments with each passing week more difficult than the last. The first 2-3 weeks after rads ends, are the hardest ones our of the entire thing. For most OC patients, right around 18-22 days after finishing rads they get up one day and feel slightly less crappy then they did when they went to bed. The next day is also a little easier for them. Sadly, most OC patients are so used to feeling lousy every day that they usually become resigned to expect thats just how it is now for them. They may not even notice that morning when they feel almost ok but it is very obvious they are not suffering so much.

A very general timeline for patients who have undergone surgery then rads 6-8 weeks later is as follows (for those who have chemo along with rads) ...

---- Right around 3 weeks after finishing rads the OC patient wakes up feeling a little more like how they were before the OC. They still have painful mouth sores and a long road to go before they are completely well again. At least when seeing your mom hit the first milestone you will be reassured that she will will improve and get better. Its so very frustrating for patients to see day after day of no progress. Make certain your mothers pain is kept under control by taking medicine around the clock when necessary. Ask the doc about magic mouthwash to help numb her mouth so the painful mouth sores dont hurt as much. The 3rd week post rads milestone is termed around here as "crawling out of the tunnel" . Almost all patients are overly fatigued and weak. They are dealing with thick gunky mucous that can be very difficult to get out of their throat. Some get a prescription from their doc for a portable suction machine which greatly helps alleviate the abundance of thick gunk. Also using a water pik on its lowest setting with warm water and a tablespoon of non-alcoholic mouthwash helps keep their mouths nice and clean to help the mouth sores. Attention should be paid to rinsing every single day with one cup of warm water, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt. Patients should swish it around int heir mouths for a minute then spit it out. This helps maintain the ph balance and helps mouth sores to heal. Weight loss will usually continue as patients struggle every minute of the day with their intake. Nausea is common as is diarrhea and constipation. Whatever patients throw up must be replaced and put back in or they will become dehydrated. Patients within the first 3 weeks after rads often are upset by their lack of progress, weight loss, ability to eat and depression is common. Not one of us can ever recover as quickly as we think we should which further frustrates everyone as well. During my first 3 weeks after rads, I was hospitalized for malnutrition and dehydration... Im pretty sure this happened 3 times from about week 4 or 5 of rads and the first month after finishing. Losing 65 pounds in 2 months along with my strength and muscle tone so I was too weak to even stand up and walk. Significant weight loss further complicates how easily a patient will recover. Unless they are holding their weight by taking in at least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water every single day then that should be the absolute daily minimum they take in. If at all possible, taking in more will help them get thru rads and their recovery so much easier!!! After about the 2nd or 3rd week post rads patients who had lost their voice begin to get it back. Dont be surprised if one day your mom is doing great and the next shes in bed almost an entire day. Recovery is full of ups and downs with some setbacks thrown in as well. Focus on whats controllable like her intake and pain levels and in time she will improve. The better she does with intake, the better she will feel. If necessary get an open prescription for extra hydration from her doc so your mom can get extra fluids every other day. That really will help her significantly as dehydrated patients can suffer all kinds of pain and problems. Trust me... she does NOT want to go down that path like I did!!!!

---- About 4-6 weeks post rads, patients will one day notice their sense of taste that had been mostly nonexistent is starting to work again. This is usually more noticeable towards the 6th week post rads. They have slightly more energy and are noticing their mouth sores are improving too. A month or more after finishing rads, they arent as foggy minded and start having more and more easier days. The sense of taste after rads is fleeting!!! Often its only the first bite or 2 that will have any flavor. After weeks of all foods tasting like burnt over-salted cardboard its a nice surprise! Their sense of taste will come and go with things tasting ok for an hour, or 2 days or maybe even 2 weeks then they become the most disgusting flavor ever for a day or a week or more until it begins to taste ok again. Its all over the place with new favorite foods changing frequently. For many, anything canned even if low sodium still is over salted and spices (even very mild ones) are always overpoweringly bad even if substantially less is in the food. Patients need to experiment with what they can and cant taste with it changing so frequently. Buffet restaurants are great places patients who are relearning to eat again can try a wide variety ofd foods a teaspoon of it at a time. They do need to pay attention to what they're eating as anything spicy will probably not be able to be eaten yet. Even those patients who have always enjoyed extra spicy food will not be able to tolerate it anymore. Trying new foods with a big glass of regular milk or chocolate milk (400 calories a pint!!!) . Its still early in the eating again game so patients will see many more sense of taste improvements. Between 3-6 weeks post rads, patients find they suddenly stop having the thick gunky mucous one day to be replaced the next day with dry mouth. Having dry mouth is NOT fun at all!!!! Its so bad that the patients tongue will get "stuck" glued to the roof of their mouth and they're unable to pull it off without help from their fingers. This "water bottle carrying club" newest member will see small improvements in their saliva over the next year or more. It will come and go with improvements some have reported noticing right after they hit the 2 year post rads mark.

Unfortunately, OC patients have a very long road of recovery... definitely NOT 3 weeks as the doctor reported!!! It takes OC patients after rads 2 years until they are fully recovered and pretty much as well as they can ever expect to be again. Of course theres always exceptions and hearing 2 years for recovery can be quite a shock, its an honest assessment from someone who struggled every single day thru some of the worst days of my life along with about 75% of every other OC patient/survivor here. Theres only about 10% who sail right thru barely noticing any side effects. The other 15% are ones who probably didnt do very well with their intake or maybe they didnt bother to do what their doc told them they should do as they suffer the most with the worst of the side effects hitting them harder than most of us who are more like your mom. Sleeping with their head inclined and a humidifier helps with dry mouth, any sinus issues from rads and should be done always anyway if using a feeding tube. Plus patients should be sitting still for at least 30 minutes after a feeding ends to let their stomach settle.

--- For the next 2-6 months post rads, patients will steadily improve in all areas of their health as long as they are continuing to take in at least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water every single day. They slowly begin to have more energy and although they still do tire easily, its a definite improvement from where they had been the first few weeks post rads. By 6 months most will have almost all of their mouth sores healed, quite a bit of their sense of taste come back, at least they should be able to find many different things they can enjoy. Some days are harder than others to swallow and eat enough to attempt to get rid of their feeding tube. If patients are able to sustain themselves for 2 more more months after rads without using their feeding tube for nutrition and/or hydration then they should be ok to have it removed. This is something many strive to do. Being free from the dreaded feeding tube is a huge mental hurdle to show they really have made significant improvements in their recovery. Unfortunately many patients push to get rid of the tube before they really should and end up dropping a noticeable amount of weight when its first taken out. They will also notice along with the weight loss is they will begin to feel lousy and not as much stamina or strength. After about 6 months, patients who work will attempt to return to their previous job depending on how much physical and/or mental activity it demands. Some people can go back half days while others can return full time, this is on a case by case basis.

---- After the first year post rads most of the recovery progress has already been made. The very worst of their experiences are well behind the patient where they now feel pretty good. Of course, they're not 100% back to how they were before having OC but they really are in pretty decent shape. The dry mouth can still be annoying but most of us carry a water bottle every place we go and have learned to adapt to settle in to our new normal.

---- Depending on if the patient is able to maintain their weight should be what is considered if the patient wants to reduce their daily intake to under 2000 calories a day or not. After the first year most patients are determined to regain their former pre-cancer lifestyle.

Radiation treatments following surgery are difficult!!! Adding chemo makes the radiation work better but it also brings along its own set of issues for OC patients. If someone has not has chemo with their rads, expect their timeline to be faster and easier than what I outlined above. Of course, everybodys different so some will sail right thru while others suffer and thats regardless of their OC stage. We're all in this together and should all try to give each other tips and encouragement to get thru some very difficult days. From everything Ive been thru with my own 3x OC experiences within 3 years and what Ive seen thousands of other here go thru I wouldnt wish OC on my worst enemy. Its a horrible disease that disables so many who must go thru barbaric treatments that most people would never dream of. With newly diagnosed OC cases increasing every year while other cancer types are decreasing can be discouraging. I can only hope Im here long enough to see long overdue changes happen to significantly help OC patients have better survival rates along with less invasive treatments.

As a caregiver please make sure you also take care of yourself. I know its a very difficult job watching someone you love suffer and go thru such horrible things. Your mother is very lucky you are there for her!!! Just dont lose sight of yourself in all of the chaos, even if its only to go for a long walk. Some caregivers find they are instantly refreshed when they take a bit of a time out to recharge. Im wishing both you and your mother all the very best with everything!!! Dont hesitate to ask questions here and also of your moms medical team for anything they can help her with to make this easier. Im very very sorry I had to be the one who explained your mom will not suddenly be ok again next week. How I detest being the bearer of upsetting news!!! But now you have a better idea about what can help and what is more of a normal timeline for the recovery phase. Your mom's almost to the finish line!!!! Very soon she will finally begin to feel slightly a little better and it goes almost always up from there!!!

((((HUGS!!!!))))