Hello,
I've been reading the posts on this site and I want to thank everyone for all their help you didn't know you were giving me. I learned sooooo much about how to manage my journey from this fine group of people. It is so good to know that there are other people that understand this situation.
Yesterday was my first follow up visit with the Oncologist since the last treatment. Good report, he doesn't see any sign of the cancer now. And believe me, you could see it before.
That's how this all began. I had just gotten out of braces for TMJ problems when I developed a sore throat and was checking my tonsils for "white spots" when I saw one was larger than the other. I called my PCP and reported what I saw and was called in some antibiotics. Being in the health care field for 37 years, something told me this wasn't an ordinary thing. So, I did what any intelligent health care worker would do.... I googled it! "One large tonsil" and what do you know? No good news, I can say that. So I immediately called my ENT doc, with whom I was already established for Meniere's disease. At the time I did not know that he was a Head and Neck cancer specialist. I've been so blessed all along the way. I was already established with a periodontist also. This made getting appointments so much easier. Since then I have tried to make the Orthodontist and PCP very aware of what a unilaterally enlarged tonsil indicates.
So now I am 6wks out from xrt and 20 lbs. lighter, trying to wean off the duragesic patch for 2 weeks now. That has been, by far, one of the worst times during this journey. I had no idea my body would react as it has after stepping down to just hydrocodone.
I see a pain management specialist next week to help with this so I can go back to work Jan. 22nd. with my water bottle, my Biotene, and lots of prayers!
I hope I can be of help to someone along the way now like you guys helped me. May God bless all of you as he has blessed me
and continue your work here and now I will join you, ever so gratefully. Kathi