Amy, thanks for the update on your Dad. Sounds like things are progressing as normally as one can hope for with this disease. Sorry he had to stay overnight. I timed mine with my second chemo treatment which I had to stay at the hospital for anyway, so it was no big deal.

A word of warning, rad treatments at the beginning are generally not to bad, however, after a few weeks, they start to get worse and are pretty bad by the 7th week. We are all different in how we react to the treatments, but that was the pattern many have had on this board so he may have the same reaction. I understand the cold also. Living in S. Florida has turned me into a heat only person. One of the few things my wife and I heatedly discuss is the A/C. I want it lower, she wants it higher. Well, compromise is a wonderful thing.

Constipation is a problem most of us have had. I used Carnation instant breakfast in my Ensure which occasionally gave me diareha(sp) and took care of the constipation. I also used prune juice down the old tube to help with that as well along with mango, peach, pear nectars and other fruit juices to help break things up. I still have some problems with it as I can't eat fruit anymore. The fructose just tastes horrible after the rad. Enjoy anticipating your new "normal" when treatments are over, it will come before you know it. God bless you and your Dad and family.


Regards, Kirk Georgia
Stage IV, T1N2aM0, right tonsil primary, Tonsilectomy 11/03, 35 rad/3cisplatin chemo, right neck dissection 1/04 - 5/04.