Hi Janine,

So much good information is already written in the above posts. I just wanted to say that, in our experience at least, during treatment you have to get used to the fact that there will be things happen that your doctors forgot to mention and that there are lots of relatively small things that can ultimately cause discomfort if left too long. For instance, it's important to ask about stool softeners/laxatives when starting the heavy pain meds because constipation can add unnecessary discomfort and anxiety at an already tense time.

Also, I found that doing a quick review on Friday morning of any new problems my husband was having ( for example, was his mouth particularly sore, was he having heartburn etc) and following up before noon on Friday with his doctor, saved both worry over the weekend and probably a few trips to the Emergency Room - a place you really want to avoid if you can when the radiation/chemo is in play and the immune system is compromised.

My John is only 9 months post treatment but much of his taste is back (it was very distorted for a few months) and today he went off on his first business trip to another city since becoming ill. A year ago we were really dreading the future and now we are more into enjoying each day and taking it as it comes.


Like many, I too was numb and shocked and extremely sad and worried about the effect it would have on our 11 yr old when the diagnosis came but once the treatment began, it was more about the practical aspects of getting through each day(hour-by-hour sometimes). Please post any questions you have as you go through this. This board was (and continues to be) a tremendous help to our entire family.

Mary