So I am officially done with my radiation treatment and it sure feels great to say so. Friday was my 30th and final treatment. It went much faster than I thought it would go. I realize I'm far from done yet but still thrilled to have completed the treatments and know I won't have to go to Sloan as part of my daily routine anymore.

I want to thank everyone on the OCF who helped arm me with such amazing information and such support. I had decided to post a diary of my process after reading Gary's and appreciating how helpful his was for me. Thanks to Brian Hill of course, for making this all possible.

In summarizing my experience I would say so far I found it easier than I had expected based on what I've read on this site and others experiences. No question that everyone has a unique experiene dealing with radiation and its side effects. I was able to work throughout my entire treatment process and glad I did. I am taking this week off to recover and excited I won't have to travel to new york city everyday as I have been doing for work and treatment. I know this week is supposed to be the toughest but so far its been about same as the last few.

Before I review my side effects thought it would be helpful to remind everyone my exact treatment. In order to treat a recurrence of SCC to left lateral border of my tongue (first primary 4 years ago) i was given 30 doses of radiation at 5 angles toward my tongue, stronger dosage on the left side where both tumors were, one angled straight at midle of tongue and 2 angled at right side of tongue. Because both of my primaries were stage 1 in terms of size and i had a neck disection confirming no nodal involvement at time of original tumor and this recent tumor was small and removed with decent margins and i had a clean pet/ct scan it was decided i did not need my neck radiates at all given minimal likelihood of nodal involvement. Goal of radiation was to really get at my entire toungue to make sure there were no micrscopic cancer cells floating around.

As far as side effects went, I had excess saliva for weeks 2 and 3 then went back down a bit. Never had major issues with mucous, just enough that it took me a while in shower to clear myself out in morning. I started losing some taste 3-4 weeks into process but now my taste is just neutral and in fact i can taste chocalate, coffe and vanilla. I've been able to eat a soft diet throughout and haven't lost any weight. Fatigue has yet to be much of an issue. Did get nauseous a few times and that was definitely unpleasant but got drugs to take care of that.

Mouth sores have been my biggest issue and they really started to hurt the last 2 weeks of treatment and still do. Had a sore throat for a couple of days that just went away. Patches and oxycodone and lydocaine rinses have really helped and I have it pretty well under control. Constipation is my latest issue and i'm doing all the normal stuff to mitigate that. Still having issues.

All in all I think it went great. I listened to everyone's advice and went in with a positive attitude and set mini-goals for myself along the way. Best thing i did for myself is avoided being horizontal as much as possible. Going to work helped alot. So did having such a localized treatment with no chemo. I drank tons of water and other fluids.

To those yet to go through this process know that its tough but very doable. the rewards far outweigh the temporary quality of life issues.

Now I must deal with what I think will be my most difficult challenge yet. Making the most of this new lease on life i am lucky enough to have received. I am 32 and the proud father of 2 little girls (age 2.5 and 1 yr old) and proud husband of one amazing woman. My career is just taking off and in the midst all of this I just survived cancer for the second time in my young life. I must learn from this experience just how precious my life is and become that much better of a father, husband, son, friend, employee (hopefully partner soon), etc. I must constantly remind myself not to sweat the small stuff and enjoy life for what it is. I know I am going to be a better person having gone through this experience and will look back at my life one day and appreciate that this experience was meant to be and helped shape me into the person who was able to reach his fullest potential in all important aspects of life.

Everything happens for a reason and while I'm not deeply religious I'm a believer that life has a way of balancing itself out over time. I know in the end I will have been better off having had to deal with this. (hard to think that at this specific moment nut i just know its the case just like i knew i was going to breeze through radiation)

Thanks again to all my new OCF friends and I will be in touch soon. My follow-up entails meeting once every 2 months with my surgeon and once every 2 months ( alternating) with my radiation oncologist such that one of them will be doing an oral exam each month for at least the next year. I need to research what scans I should expect and insist on getting as well.

PS. thanks to all my doctors and i look forward to working with those on this forum in pursuing oral cancer issues. theres alot more for me to learn.

Chad