Hi All,

I am 56, from England and a US citizen. My wife is Korean, also a US citizen; we lived in the US for 30 years and in Korea for the last several years. 2 years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 oropharyngeal cancer that had spread to a lymph in my neck; I had multiple tumors and the largest was 6cm. I felt the obstruction in my throat getting bigger and my tongue went hard like rubber on one side, all the way to the back, which was affecting my speech and the bulge on my neck was getting bigger. I guess it took 37 years of daily drinking and smoking 2 packs a day to cause these things but the really noticeable symptoms developed in a very short time. Even so, I was still in denial until I started bleeding from my throat upon lighting the day's first cigarette. At that point the Doctor/Hospital visit was clearly unavoidable. I always believed I would quit smoking/drinking and I was right about that, unfortunately it just took me longer than it should have. Better late than never!

After MRI & biopsy, I was taken in for radiation and chemo within a week. The chemo wasn't bad, I had a low dose to supplement the radiation, I never got nauseous and I didn't lose any hair. The radiation lasted for almost six weeks and that was really rough toward the end. I couldn't stand up or eat by that point and I was in a lot of pain, so I was admitted for the final two weeks. I got fluids, nutrition and meds through IVs but my miracle potion was Ensure Nutrition Shake (Abbott Labs) which was the only thing I could get down. Literally everything else tasted exactly how I imagine human poo would taste. I lost over 30lbs which was a lot for me, starting from 170 but I slowed my weight loss and eventually gained a lot back thanks in large part to the Ensure. Ensure isn't stocked here and shipping cases of it from the states was a bit pricey but worth every penny!

I just became aware of the OCF site a couple of weeks ago and have been reading posts. I knew I was fortunate not to have surgery, not to lose my hair and not to lose any teeth (so far). I knew I was very fortunate to have clean scans following treatment. My Doctors and Radiation Techs told me that my response/recovery was atypical (good) so I knew on a logical level how lucky I had been. However, after reading posts in these forums, I don't think the word lucky even scratches the surface, so far at least.

All that radiation affected me mentally and it affected my stamina, which is still low 2 years later. I took a couple months off work for initial treatment but I had to quit my job soon after I returned to work, I couldn't deal with things as I had and I needed a lot more than 8 hours sleep a night. Swallowing food was a real problem and my taste buds took a long while to recover, but those things got better in the second year. I still have to be careful to drink liquid (or have liquid at hand) when I eat, but function and taste is greatly improved. I have no external scars, the only outward sign is some tissue damage in my neck from the radiation which looks kind of like a double chin but my vanity is not worth any cutting which might start something bad happening.

I have a question or three about financial/insurance/disabilty as it relates to my situation but I'll post that in the insurance/financial forum.

I wish none of us had to meet under these circumstances but, while I wouldn't wish it on anyone, it is nice not to be alone. Plus, you know the old sayings: "a trouble shared is a trouble halved" and my favorite: "misery loves company" :-)

Best regards,

Martin