I finished radiation on Sept. 8. I was really lucky through treatment, eating a little solid food like eggs, bologna, guacamole on my eggs, even a little fish, all the way through treatment. I am a marathon runner and continued running just a little, about 13 miles a week, even in the final weeks of treatment. I went back to work Oct. 11, started to get my taste back pretty well in November and can even taste sweets now.
I overdid and have had to slow down a little, cut my running and rest more, but overall, it's not been bad.
My Dec. 1 PET and CT were clear. I have been very, very fortunate.
I have some puffiness on the right side of my neck that's from radiation, the docs tell me, and I've had some tingling in my legs lately, which I've read about on this forum.
So my minor question is whether this sounds normal (I think it is) for 3.5 months post treatment: About a week after my scans, a small, circular open sore popped up at the left corner where my tongue attaches to the tonsil area. My cancer was in my right tonsil and I got the highest radiation dose on that side. I've had a sore spot on that side the whole time that's gotten slowly better. Is a small sore on the opposite side within the range of normal? It's red and hurts a bit as the day goes on. Magic mouthwash soothes it pretty well.
It's been pretty cold here in Detroit, and my mouth is still pretty dry. I hate to call the nurse practitioners on every little thing; I've become something of a hypochondriac.

If it persists more than 2 weeks have it checked out!

Hi Randy,

Have it checked out if it doesnt improve in two weeks. However i developed an ulcer on the opposite side of my cancer too and that did not improve for 6 weeks!!! Even now, new sores keeps popping up if i eat something that my mouth doesnt agree with. I finished my treatment ob 6th Sept and i think we are pretty much in similar positions right now. I went back to work in Oct too and do need to slow down - which i'm trying hard to do but old habits die hard. My main problem has been getting off the pain meds which i have done now but it has completely stuffed up my sleeping patterns so i'm in dire need of sleep. Other than that i feel pretty good! Unforturnately for me, my 3 month CT scan showed some lesions on my tonsils so i need to have PET end Jan. My RO said its prob just still healing from radiation so i'm not going to let it ruin my christmas!

We all become a bit of a hypochondriac i think, but then its prob best - at least we are on top of every little signs of cancer and will pick them up sooner rather than later! I guess we will relax more as time goes by.

So all in all, i wouldnt worry too much about the sore but do get it checked by your doc if it doesnt improve in two weeks so they can keep an eye on it. Best wishes for even more improvements!!

Minh

As a person who has gone thru 2 recurrences, I disagree with the above advice. Its already been long enough. If you have already gone thru oral cancer and its treatments and a new sore pops up get it checked right away. Normally the rules is 2 weeks but if facing a recurrence I would say give it only a week. I had a clear scan before I was diagnosed with the recurrences. So you see it does happen and it is located close to where your original spot was. When in doubt get it checked. I do not want to panic you, dont worry just be smart about it.

If I were you I would call right away Monday morning and tell them you need a biopsy. Call whichever doc you have that has done your biopsies in the past. Make sure you tell the receptionist that you have already been successfully treated for oral cancer and you now have a spot that needs a biopsy. This hopefully will save you from having a consultion appointment then wait a few days for the biopsy appointment.

Best wishes for good results!!!

I agree with Christine,

If you have an area that concerns you that either pops up on a CT/PET or you can see visibly, have it biopsied. Scans cost $ and are plagued by false positives. A CT/PET are going to show a multitude of things that can look like cancer so why get a PET if a CT lights up an area? Just biopsy the area and know for sure.

Minh you did bring up a topic though that I feel has been underdiscussed in my opinion and that is the pain medications. In my experience my Dr's were quick to give me a script for the meds, but did not have a plan for getting me off of them. Most of these drugs develop physical dependance and can lead to abuse...turning cancer patients into addicts. Getting off of these drugs can be a challenge (been there) and I know I had very little support doing this. One of the hardest things I had to do this past year was end the two years of opiate pain meds (fentanyl, oxy, hydro, tram) and let my body get back to "normal".

good luck,

Eric

The radiation oncologist examined it visually and with his finger (Ow!) when I was at the med center for a neurology appointment about the buzzing sensation in my legs (which turns out to be Lhermitte's Syndrome, a fairly rare, temporary condition from radiation damage to the nerve sheathing on the spinal chord in my neck).
He said the sore is a shallow ulcer, not uncommon, probably caused by a food irritation. He said to watch it, but it's likely to heal within a couple weeks.
And the quick pulses of numbness from Lhermitte's are not a big deal, especially now that I've read about the condition.