i have salivary gland cancer. i have been done with radiaton and chemo for the past two weeks however my throat still hurts tons and i am still very nauseaus. Any way to combat those symptoms. how long before they disappear?

Dear Coquito53- Two weeks out of radiation and chemo is very soon to expect much relief from pain without good pain meds. But the nausea should be addressed. What pain meds. are you taking- they may be causing the nausea. Please give us more specifics about what is happening with you on a daily basis so people who have "been there-done that" can talk to you. ARecovery is a day to day thing and if you will tell about your daily routine, you will get help here. Amy in the Ozarks

Coquito,

Amy's right -- the recovery from radiation/chemo usually takes much longer than the two-week point where you are now. The effects of radiation are cumulative, and they keep going for weeks (if not months) afterward.

Are you eating entirely by mouth, or are you using a tube? How much are you able to eat/drink on a daily basis? You should have a nutritionist at your hospital that is following your progress and trying to see that you can maintain a specific daily intake goal.

Also, if the pain and nausea are ongoing problems, your medical team should be able to see that you have more effective medications to deal with them. What kind of followup schedule do you have with your doctors?

Cathy

i am not taking any pain meds. they constipate me and keep me groggy. As far as the feeding tube goes, i dont use it anymore. i never had much resistance for it. it made me very sick. for nausea they are giving me reglan and nexium but at night i get extremely nauseaus. i am trying accupuncture for the nausea but i am not sure is working. i have to give it a chance i only had one treatment going for the second today.

The constipation can be managed (the nausea too for that matter) and the grogginess (from pain meds) should subside in a day or 2 after your body chemistry adjusts to the meds. I can't even begin to imagine how you are making it without them. You must be one tough hombre or a Navy Seal or something. Of course there is always the concept that healing is not enhanced by suffering chronic pain.

I was nauseated for quite a while post Tx as most of us were. You have to work at managing it. It's part of the misery aspect of the treatment. The chemo is very toxic, especially if you had Cisplatin.

I have lots of questions but first, no i am not a tough hombre nor a navy seal. I am 33 years, 5'4, weighing 114 lbs and quite fragile. I don't know what to think. The doctors are quite impressed by my remarkable ability to stay off pain meds. they almost can't believe it. i did not know that it was not the norm until now. i did a 4 course of cisplatin however the dr.'s say that i should not be nauseus anymore from the chemo but i cant stopped being nauseus. could it be that my feeding tube is making me nauseaus?. Any suggestions? Also my throat hurts after 7 weeks of radiation but for some reason i am able to function without meds. i never adjusted to the meds. i was always groggy. i tried them for over a week and the feeling of grogginess was terrible. the other thing that i don't understand is that my gums are turning dark.