Laura,

I also think that given your age, and that you have children who are going to want you around for many years to come, you really did the right thing too. I've found my choice to be aggressive has also given me some peace of mind when I start worrying about a recurrence. I know I have done everything that could be done to prevent one and it's a lot easier to not obsess about it because of that.

It does seem like it's early for some of the side effects but everyone is different. I had a muc harder time with the first dose of cisplatin although I didn't get mouth pain or a burn as quickly as you did.

FWIW, if I had to do it over again (thank God I don't!), the two things I'd do differently during radiation are I would have gotten and been using a therabite, to keep my jaw from tightening, during radiation (instead of 3 months after), and I would have worked on swallowing and swallowing exercises more all the way through. I did keep swallowing water (which tasted awful) but apparently not enough of it and wasn't really using those swallowing muscles enough.....

I also found it very hard at the beginning when I was feeling bad but knew I would be feeling much worse in days to come. Just take oe day at a time and they will pass--and we'll be here to offer commiseration and support when you need it.

Nelie