Hello all,
Not sure if this site and all the reading I've done on the computor is helping me or making things worse, quite frankly. Unfortunately, I have read about so many who have passed away after being on this site that it has me a bit shaken about my situation.
I was treated for Stage iv Base of Tongue Squamous Cell cancer that was diagnosed in January of 2007 with my staging being T2N2bMO after 3 biopsies were performed and the primary was confirmed in February. In March I began 33 IMRT Radiation treatments with Cyslatin Chemo on days 2,21, and 42. I finished tratment on April 20,2007 and had my Peg tube removed in August. So basicly I have been finished with treatment for 5+ months and I am still having problems with fatigue, very thick stringy saliva, throat discomfort, upper back pain, and severe nuaprothy in my feet and hands. I did have a cat scan of my brain, neck and chest 8 weeks after treatment which showed abnormal findings in the center and right side of my Base of Tongue and unfortunately my RO thought their was a 85% chance my tumor had spread from the left side of my Base of Tongue and that my tumor was inoperable. My brain scan and chest scan came back as being normal. I then went to see a surgeon at John Hopkins for a second opinion and he felt after reviewing my scan that my tongue could be showing dead or scar tissue from the radiation, so a biopsy would be needed. 5 weeks later I did receive the results of a biopsy performed by my Surgeon at Emory University in Atlanta and it came back as being negative for any cancer. Unfortunately, I spent 5 weeks thinking that their was a 85% chance I was basicly going to dye if my RO was correct.
I'm 54 and prior to being diagnosed with throat cancer, I was extremely active. In 1996 I did the World Championship Ironman in Kona , Hawaii, and I have always stayed in good shape by exercising about 2 hours almost every morning before work. This treatment has beaten the hell out of me and I never dreamed that I would be basicly totally disabled from my second month of treatment and for 4 months therafter. To the contrary my doctors predicted I would be up and running in 3 months(2 months of treatment and 1 of recovery). I am now working part time as a Civil Trial Attorney, but it has been difficult and my constantly having to spit in a cup this awful wallpaper paste stringy saliva is driving me crazy and is inbarrasing. Yes, it has gotten better over time as I needed to spit about every 10 minutes 24 hours a day after about 20 Radiation treatments. I am now sleeping thru the night and can spit when I wake up and during the day every a few times every hour or so. It seems to get worse in the evening. I also still have this uncomfortable not so severe pain in the back of my throat from where the thick saliva comes from, but its definately below where my tumor was in my Tongue.
Also, I have read so much about reoccurance and lung metastasis that I AM NOW MAKING MYSELF CRAZY worrying about the pain in my throat, the pain in my back, and slight discomfort in the lower part of my rib cage on occassion as being lung cancer even though I had a chest scan about 17 weeks ago. I spend much too much time reading about throat cancer here on the web, including this site as I am making myself crazy worrying about these symptoms.
So their you have it. Curious to know?
-Have any others suffered from thick stringy saliva 5+ months after treatment of radiation and chemo?
-Have others had throat pain and/or throat discomfort 5+ months after radiation and chemo was completed?
-Have others suffered from Nuaprothy, severe numness in their hands and feet after Cisplatin Chemo and if so how long did it take to get better?
-Should I be worried about this pain in my upper back and chest?.....I'm concerned the cancer has spread to my lungs but I'm not coughing, spitting blood or having any trouble breathing.
Thanks for any thoughts or advises you might have?
Regards and best wishes to all, Steven