Yay! After 33 Radiations (they added one the last week because of close margins) and 7 chemo treatments, I am DONE with treatment! My neck is blistered and oozing and sore, my tongue is burning and covered in ulcers, I'm coughing up more mucus than I ever thought my body was capable of producing, but I never have to get strapped down on the Tomotherapy Machine again! My body held up wonderfully until the end of week six and that's when the mucus showed up, along with the ulcers, and you could no longer differentiate my neck dissection scar from the rest of my neck because of the redness and blisters.

A couple questions, mainly because I'm impatient and want to be better yesterday. How long will the mouth ulcers / mucositis stick around (the whole side of my tongue and part of the top are white and ulcerated)? I am using nystatin as well for thrush because that flared up again (but it burns like crazy!), but basically the only thing I can put in my mouth right now is salt water, everything else burns, even plain water. Im swallowing as much as I can - I basically take a sip of water and swish with salt water until I can't stand it any more, a few times a day. It's horrible, because before the ulcers showed up, I was eating pretty normally. Also, how long before I notice a reduction in the mucus in my throat. I grossed my tech out yesterday with the huge loogie I coughed up after treatment - seriously they fill up washcloths! I'm taking Robitussin, but that basically just seems to make it easier for me to cough everything up. I guess if the inside of my throat looks anything like the outside of my throat, I'm going to be really good at hocking up loogies by the end of this! HA!

Ah, it just feels so good to be done! There is a light at the end of the tunnel - I was beginning to think mine was burned out! Best of luck to everyone still in treatment, I've still got a long way to go before I'm better, but let the healing begin!!!