Hi everyone,
We are halfway through week six of the seven weeks and things are still going well. Hubby is still swallowing all day with some food and Carnation/Ensure. Weight is holding fairly steady and no pain meds except an occasional Tylenol. He is having a new issue with red skin on his neck and face. Sometimes it is very hot and uncomfortable. Any suggestions? I have read that some people do Aloe Vera and unscented cream like Lubriderm. Does anyone have expert advice? You all have so many terrific ideas.

We only have 7 more rads and one chemo. Getting there and then phase two, coming back.

Thanks,
Ellen

Hi Ellen!

Well you two are close to the finish line now! How exciting! Yes rads will cook the hell out of ya that's for sure. I used Jason cream myself and I did OK of course my final week of rads was fuzzy so I'm sure my wife was lathering the hell out of me with it as I can't remember doing it myself.

Keep your chin up

Eric

Thanks Eric. We are close to the end and I really feel that he is a champion. He has weathered this with grace and determination. We see our radiation doc tomorrow and so maybe she will have a suggestion. What is Jason cream? Is it a script? Thanks for responding so quickly. I appreciate your thoughts. I will lather too if it will help him.

I will try to stay positive. Thanks goodness I have my counselor tomorrow so that I can let go. I have to stay strong at home. So important.

Jason is an Aloe based cream that was recommended by my RO, it is not a script. It's got some fancy schmancy dots over the "O" in it's spelling...but I just call it Jason cream because I'm a hick from Idaho.

In respects to staying positive I'd like to share a quote, it's one of my favorites from one of the wisest beings in the whole universe. "Do or do not...there is no try." -Master Yoda

You got this girl and you're doing the smart thing by getting help...as they used to say on In Living Colour...You GO girl! snap! Sorry, I just channeled Damon Wayans and David Allen Greer's "Men on Film" characters. Just remember to breath and take it as it comes, I do that every day and it's gotten me through to this point.

Keep your chin up, you've got this

Eric

There are different kinds you can use - my hospital said no oil based creams. They suggested Lubriderm and glaxal base - Lubriderm was too light ( great for after though!!)! But glaxal was perfect - thick - but not greasy - I used it from beginning to end - I would go in with a clean neck. When I was finished I'd hit the bathroom - rinse my mouth and plaster myself with the cream. I'd also do it after showers and before bed. It really helped. Im not sure if it's available in the states . Other people have raved about aquaphir - bought it but for me it was too greasy... Almost like a Vaseline. Good luck you're almost to the end! Hugs and healing vibes to you and your hubby!

I was/am never one to burn in the sun but tan nicely. I also had some outside red skin issues late in the rad and I found Aquaphor worked great for me. I also lost all of my whiskers and the ones below my chin line never, to this day, came back.

Thanks everyone. We have some lubriderm and that seems to help. We also bought aloe vera. So far my husband uses the cream after his shower and it seems to last.
Eric, I now remember what Jason is. My son and I are die hard Star Wars fans and so Yoda is one of my favorites too. I must say that I loved Chubaca. I went to my local health food store and there were all the Jason products. I could not remember what you meant until I saw the jar. Yes the fancy shmancy letters were there.
The counseling is a great time for me to "let go." I need to do that periodically. We saw the radiation doc today and she gave us a pretty encouraging report about his response to the treatment and then cautioned us that the few weeks after treatment are often the hardest. I already knew that from all of you but my husband needed to hear it so that he can brace himself. We will get through as we have made it this far. I have worked through all of this and will take a week and a half off to be with him. He might be sleeping or cranky but I will be there.
David, my husband tans too and so it took quite awhile for the redness but it seems to be controllable so far. The whiskers will be interesting.
Cheryl, thank you for the advice.

Best to all of you wonderful people.
Ellen

Oooooh star wars!!! Seriously!!! I LOVE star wars... My rubbery hand sized yoda puppet asked me to relay a message - with regards to fighting this disease - do - or do not - there is no try!!! Yes I do have a few bins of collectibles - nooooo I do not have them proudly displayed in my house. Sorry I had to share! Sorry for the utter weirdness!

Cheryl. I think we have to share some fun stuff too. Maybe someone can make a space on this site called silliness so we can get to know each other beyond disease and caregiving. Wouldn't that be fun?

Ellen, when the burns got really bad I got some silver sulfadiazine cream from my doc. Great stuff, really helped. It's an older med I think but I found it highly effective.

Oh and David - same here with the hair under my jawline. The cheeks, chin and upper lip have come back, albeit not with the same density. Below: nada.