I met with my MO yesterday and because the ringing is a little more noticeable we will use Erbitux weekly for the next 4 or 5 weeks. He suggested that over the Carboplatin. Said that would be the better choice. ? I have 3 weeks of RAD left, the new chemo will go beyond that. I guess that's where we are for now.

Very good! Im glad to see you wont get another dose of cisplatin. Good job at advocating for yourself!

Thank you all again, I had a PEG put in yesterday. I hadn't eaten or had much to drink in the past week. They inserted it just under my ribs because my stomach had shrunk or has moved up there. It seems that until I can fill my stomach and have it move back down into place I am experiencing sharp pains at times. Has anyone had or heard of anything similar to this? It seems to make sense to me. I guess the more solid food I can get down the better. Now that the thrush is clearing up.

When having a PEG placed you will be sore for at least 2 days afterwards. It could be even several days depending on how easily the procedure went. Some patients its a 5 minute thing while others will be worked on for 20 or 30 minutes. Im sure the ones with longer procedure times will have more pains than the quicker ones.

Let me know if you need feeding tube pointers. Might be a good plan to ask for a pump to help you with getting nutrition overnight while you sleep. Just be certain to sleep on an incline on several pillows.

Best wishes!

Earlier I stated I would not be continuing with Cisplatin because of ringing in my ear issues. My MO suggested Erbitux, 400 units or however the measure it over 4 or 5 weeks. I have had 2 doses of Cis. 100 and 40 already. I know I should have asked my MO at the time, but am I getting more than I need or is this normal when you change meds?

Pain is normal not only from the peg site but the fact that your stomach has shrunk, feeding through the peg delivers a certain amount of "food" in a relatively short period of time. Sometimes this can cause cramping particularly if you haven't eaten a reasonable amount over the last week or two. Maybe slow the pump or drip down, the problem with that is you are hooked up for a long time - that was one of the things I didn't like about the peg... hugs - hopefully you'll feel better soon.

25 RADS down 10 to go. I think the biggest issue is the skin on my neck and collar bone area. With an unknown primary they have hit me all over. My RO told me today the last ten will be less broad and more concentrated on the node and other areas, not so much on the neck. I have had psoriasis for 30 years and use Betamethasone Dipropionate. This is similar to the Beta-val Christine mentioned. Funny, now that I have started all this treatment, after all these years my psoriasis has cleared up completely. I also have the Silver ointment. They asked me if I wanted to take a break to heal, but at this point I would rather get it done. There isn't any infection, broken skin here and there, but I can deal with it so far. The chemo will continue another 3 or 4 weeks. I guess a break really wouldn't prolong it much. Is there any benefit or loss with a break in RAD Tx?

They say for every day of radiation missed is like 1.7 percent taken off the rate of survival, although they can make days up, I don't think it's the same with tumors regenerating, oxygenating, and the overall effectiveness of radiation declines after 25 sessions or 25 days anyway making it harder to kill cancer, and that's why it's 6-7 weeks only. Sometimes there is no choice, but if not, it's best to complete the treatment plan on time.

Good luck.

That's all I had to hear. I'll finish these last 2 weeks. Thanks Paul. I hope everything is working out for you. Take care.

My RO really didn't want me to miss any sessions. He told me that from the beginning and fortunately the machine never went out during any of my sessions. I remember (slightly) my last session as I had been admitted to Moffitt the night before severely dehydrated and all "messed up". I thought they might give me a break but about 30 mins before my scheduled rad session my room door opened up by a gurney and they wheeled my butt down to torture me more. I was sooo weak and tired I kept my eyes closed most of the time.