Good morning all:

I've just registered and take so much comfort from the success stories of others. I've beeen wondering how my recovery is compared to that of other survivors, it seems to me that I've been more fortunate than some others.

I'm six weeks post treatment for SCC, BOT and I received 3 chemo and 35 radiation treatment. At this particular point I'm up all day with good energy and feel great with the exception of alot of mucous. It just seems to run and run. I'm constantly rinsing my mouth with Biotene and soda water without much relief. I am lucky that it's not the stringy mucous that I experienced weeks ago. That was the most horrible experience I thing I've encountered yet. I still have a G-Tube and am taking all my water via it, but started taking all my ensure via mouth about a week ago and am just starting to blend fruit with it as well. I will probably start to take water via mouth shortly as swallowing does not hurt as much now. I also experienced a terrible burn on my neck about a week post treatment that has finally healed.

Any comments on what to expect next would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,


D.

Welcome to OCF. Congrats on finishing your tx! You sound like you are doing great. Keep up doing what you are doing. It only gets better Ive added a link to a list of easy foods for when you are ready to begin eating again. Very easy ones to try for starting out are creamy yogurt, canned peaches, milkshakes, and soup broth. It will take time but things will improve in the eating department. Its all downhill from here

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=94621#Post94621

D, sounds to me as though you've gotten great treatment and are well on the way to recovery. Congratulations. At six weeks post-rads I was still weak as the proverbial kitten, so you're doing very well indeed. I'll leave it to others to comment on the tube as it's something I didn't have (but in retrospect kind of wished I had). The fact that you're swallowing liquid nutrition and adding fruit is fantastic!

The neck burns are probably unavoidable. Have you tried silver sulfadiazine? It's been around awhile but it works very well, you might ask your docs about it.

Glad you're here with us under very tough circumstances. We're all in your corner.

David 2

WOW it sounds like you are doing great. Congrats.

D

Your recovery is right up there in the top ten percent. As to what to expect: progress and improvement.
My recommendation would be to see a speech therapist who can give you swallowing exercises to work on eat real food again and get rid of that tube. Trust me, the longer you have a feeding tube, the more chances things will go wrong with it.
The mucous is more problematic and for many of us is a chronic condition. But maybe not for you
Glad to hear a success story
Charm

You are at the same timetable I was a year ago. You didn't say if you had surgery, too. I had surgery, which was followed by the same chemo and radiation that you had. I was sooo glad to get rid of that tube and even if all I could have were liquids, it was great to be taking everything orally. I got rid of my tube the first week of December. Good luck. It does get better, even though I still have the mucus and "eating" issues. I do miss "crunchy" stuff, since I still primarily have softer foods. I eat a lot of yogurt, and for some reason seafood works pretty well. Welcome to the forum!

Hey I'm new here too.... I just finished my 35th radiation today and the 3rd Chemo on Wednesday.... they delayed the chemo a week. I got SO sick last time, acidosis and ended up in the hospital for 5 days. My mouth was doing good until a few weeks ago.... now it's just full of sores... but none are bleeding which I guess is good.... I'm just mad because about 2 weeks ago I stopped drinking water... it hurt too bad... just added more to my G tube... and G TUBES??????? Do they hurt to change out... they told me it wouldn't hurt going in IT DID!!!! IT came out once they didn't use anything... it HURT like hell.... is it just ME?????? Or do those thinggs hurt... why don't they knock you out.... oi oi oi I feel prety good tho

pr

Oh my gosh the Peg tube hurt like crazy for me too. I'm not sure why they have to keep you awake. I think it had something to do with breathing and the stomach? I don't know but I cried really hard. It was horrible for a few days afterwards. I think if you have a small frame it might hurt more or something.

Gramma Julie, I tried to send you a private message with some important tips to help you navigate OCF. Somehow you have it set up not to accepty private messages????

Anyway, one thing you mentioned that I thought you might want some help with. Its important to keep swallowing or you will lose that function. Its so much harder to relearn that than it is to take a couple sips daily.

You will learn tons of tips to help you recover. One tip is magic mouthwash will help numb your mouth so you can take a few sips of water.