I just hit my two year mark since my surgery (radiation 2 year mark July 10th) and I only see my ENT. I see him every 2-2 1/2 months. My radiation techs were awesome but the doctor himself was kind of a bore. He never seemed real interested in me and I had NO interest in him. I went for one follow up visit and I never heard from them again! My ENT handles all my care. I have my thyroid function tests and have had 3 chest xrays. No scans. He does a very, very through and hands on exam each time I see him. Mirror down the throat, all that fun stuff. He spends at least 15 minutes on the exam and 10 minutes talking with me. Everyone should have this type of doctor, he's wonderful.
I had many, many things that went on in my mouth right after radiation ended. It gave me many, many sleepless nights and anxiety filled days. Brian warned me that there would be many things that would pop up in my mouth after radiation and he was correct. I had red patches, I had literal open lesions and sores on my toungue after the mucocitis had cleared up. One sore stayed there for over 4 months. My doc would always tell me he didn't believe it was cancer but the lesion he biopsied to be extra careful. Two years later I continue to get sores in my mouth and on my tongue. I'm battling one right now on my tongue that is finally resolving and healing.
The fear of cancer coming back is a horrible thing to deal with. It's so much worse right after treatment ends but it does get better. You will get to a point where you still think about cancer every day but it doesn't rule your thoughts.
Take care,
Minnie