 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | Hi Gordon,
Your best chance at sparing your salivary glands is if you are a candidate for IMRT and it is available at your treatment center. You may have to lobby the doctors for it. The radiation was tough but you'll get through it. It is really important to keep a positive mental attitude. I took anti-anxiety medications for quite a while early in treatment and it helped me a lot to maintain my emotional balance.
I also did it without a PEG tube but in good conscience I would recommend getting one since I lost over 60 lbs and it slowed my healing process down. In hind site, I would have gotten it. Most people have said it's not a big deal and maintaining your health (and weight)is an important part of recovery.
They also have some very effective pain management drugs so you should be able to get through this with an absolute minimum of suffering.
Gary Allsebrook
***********************************
Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
________________________________________________________
"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
| 
