| | Joined: May 2010 Posts: 5 Member | | Member Joined: May 2010 Posts: 5 | Glenn has had 15/30 Radiation treatments and 1/3 Chemos.
He'll have his second Chemo next Tuesday if his platelets will cooperate (they're in the 90's right now).
So far, nothing unexpected and actually he's doing very well. Some throat pain but still eating, although nothing tastes good anymore. He's also using the PEG for about 5 cans a day plus some extra liquids.
Hair starting to fall out in clumps so he had it all shaved off last night. He's been threatening to do that for months anyway and I've told him no but he can do whatever he wants now(for awhile).
Lisa - CG to Glenn 58yr. smoker (quit after dx.) SCC TxN2bM0 Radical Neck Dissection 4/26/10, Carbo/Taxol and IMRT/Tomo starting on 6/10/10
| | | | | Joined: May 2010 Posts: 135 Senior Member (100+ posts) | | Senior Member (100+ posts) Joined: May 2010 Posts: 135 | WOOT! Grats on the progress.
Aunt diag. 2/4/10 with SCC Stage I/II on left side of tongue. Surgery 2/19/10 part. gloss./neck diss. on left side/free flap from chest muscle. TI/II,NO,MO. Clear margins with perineural invasion. Started rads 4/8/10 - 35 treatments, finished 5/26/10.
| | | | | Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 | Make sure he continues to swallow as much as he can. Those muscles quickly will forget their purpose so it's best to keep them active.
David
Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
| | | | | Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 8 Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 8 | Way to go on hitting the 1/2 way point. Keep up the nutrition and hydration and what David wrote...swallow everyday. It will become progressively harder to eat and drink but keep it up. Getting enough hydration and nutrition plays a huge role on how he will feel.
ChristineSCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44 2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07 -65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr Clear PET 1/08 4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I surg 4/16/08 clr marg 215 HBO dives 3/09 teeth out, trismus 7/2/09 recur, Stg IV 8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy 3wks medicly inducd coma 2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit PICC line IV antibx 8 mo 10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg OC 3x in 3 years very happy to be alive | | | | | Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 618 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) Joined: Sep 2009 Posts: 618 | Half way is a great accomplishment. You can see the finish line from here.
Kelly Male 48, SCC (Soft Palet) Rt., Stage 1, T3n0m0, Dx, 8-09, Start IMRT 35 9-2-09 end 10-21-09 04-20-10 NED 8-11 recurrence, node rt. neck N2b 10-11 33 IMRT w/chemo wkly 3-12-12 PET - residual cancer 4-12 5 treatments with Cyberknife & Erbitux 6-19-12 Pet scan CLEAR 12-3-12 PET - CLEAR
| | | | | Joined: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,409 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) Joined: Jul 2009 Posts: 1,409 Likes: 1 | Congrats on halfway. Give him a pat on the back for me!
David as well
David 2 SCC of occult origin 1/09 (age 55)| Stage III TXN1M0 | HPV 16+, non-smoker, moderate drinker | Modified radical neck dissection 3/09 | 31 days IMRT finished 6/09 | Hit 15 years all clear in 6/24 | Radiation Fibrosis Syndrome kicked in a few years after treatment and has been progressing since | Prostate cancer diagnosis 10/18
| | | | | Joined: May 2010 Posts: 5 Member | | Member Joined: May 2010 Posts: 5 | Still swallowing. He drinks Gatorade and water throughout the say and still eats eggs & steakums, pancakes etc.
He tries various things, cottage cheese, yogurt, pudding but a lot of the problem is he had all his teeth removed in late May and can't chew things he'd really like to. He also says everything tastes bad, not just bland but bad so it's an effort to eat things.
I've got him working on jaw excersises to help prevent Trismus because he won't get his first appointment with the Speech Pathologist until after his treatment is completed. I thought that was odd but I guess that's their custom.
I'm grateful for the PEG. He's a Diabetic and his intake is super important to maintaining his blood sugars.
Lisa - CG to Glenn 58yr. smoker (quit after dx.) SCC TxN2bM0 Radical Neck Dissection 4/26/10, Carbo/Taxol and IMRT/Tomo starting on 6/10/10
| | | | | Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 8 Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Administrator, Director of Patient Support Services Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Jun 2007 Posts: 10,507 Likes: 8 | Its very difficult to eat without teeth. I have the same problem. Here are some food items that are pretty easy to eat when you have no teeth....
canned chicken noodle soup jello pudding yogurt cottage cheese mashed potatoes (w/ butter and gravy or sour cream) baked sweet potatoes (w/ butter) cheese cake milkshakes some cream soups like cream of chicken or potato cream of wheat oatmeal
Its very important that he keeps swallowing. Even if it hurts. He must keep those swallowing muscles active or down the road he will have much bigger issues. ChristineSCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44 2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07 -65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr Clear PET 1/08 4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I surg 4/16/08 clr marg 215 HBO dives 3/09 teeth out, trismus 7/2/09 recur, Stg IV 8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy 3wks medicly inducd coma 2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit PICC line IV antibx 8 mo 10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg OC 3x in 3 years very happy to be alive | | | | | Joined: Sep 2012 Posts: 145 "OCF Down Under" Senior Member (100+ posts) | | "OCF Down Under" Senior Member (100+ posts) Joined: Sep 2012 Posts: 145 | Great to hear all going well.
Make sure he is taking as many calories as possible when his condition is still stable as it will make a huge difference during the final weeks of treatment.
6/8/12: Wife 33y/o with no risk dx with Stage IVa SCC L of Tongue(T4aN2bM0) 3/9/12: Induced birth @ 36 weeks - Baby Hunter! 11/9/12: OP - 3/4 Partial Gloss, Radical ND & Tongue Rec. 24/10/12: 33xRad + 7xChemo 7/12/12: Tx complete 21/3/13 & 21/6/13: NED 24/7/13: SCC in Lungs - OP: Lobectomy (VATS) 29/1/14 passed away
| | | | | Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 168 Senior Member (100+ posts) | | Senior Member (100+ posts) Joined: Jan 2011 Posts: 168 | Congratulations on this milestone. Every day of treatment is one day closer to recovery. -Michelle
SCC left tonsil, stage IV, HPV+, metastatic to one lymph node. Biopsy 12/23/10; tonsillectomy 1/13/11; DX 1/25/11; Peg in 1/28/11. Peg out 6/29. TX 1/31/11-3/21/11: 35 IMRT plus 3 Cisplatin. Pet-Scan 6/20/11 = CLEAR! Three years out, learning to live with the long-term side effects of radiation while reminding myself to feel blessed.
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