When did you guys start eating real food again - and by real food I mean a pizza or a burger. And when did you feel good enough to go back to work? Thanks for the responses.

Hi Jen,
pizza was the first thing on my solid food list and it was about 1 month after treatment ended that I ate it, along with a Ceasar salad. It tasted great. I did eat some rare cooked steak prior to that. I had my first burger around 2 months.


I work at home so I had the luxury of being able to slowly phase back in. I would say allow yourself a good three months, maybe more. It really did take 6 months to feel somewhat normal again. There is always a risk of going back too soon.

I didn't have a feeding tube, lost 60 lbs and a lot of muscle/strength so that may have played a role. I am eating like a horse today, have gained over 20 lbs back and I'm lifting weights.

Everyone is a little different and reacts differently to treatment.

Hi Jen,

I started feeling much better at around 2 weeks and it got better and better for about a month. that was about 85% "normal" for me. Then it took 6 months for another 5% and so on. Still had some fatigue issues but fore the most part could work at the same level. If his job is strenuous then he'll need more time. If it is mostly a desk job he'll might do fine even after 1-2 months. Everybody is different so don't worry if it takes longer. Watch out for depression it can show up sometimes.

As far as eating I had a large prime rib one week after the treatments ended. (a treat from some friends) I had to go slow but it was fabulous! (for some reason beef always tasted like it should) He can expect to eat slowly and have to be cautious (dry food can be a choke hazard) for quite a while. I used a lot of whole milk as a replacement for salivia during meals. For me it seemed to work much better than water. Pizza is still a bit of trouble even 30 months out. This is true of all the breads and crackers. Bread dipped in olive oil is a good way.

Hi Jen,
I am 8 weeks post up with a neck disection and a pech flap. I just started radiation two days ago. I am able to eat solid food but it is a slow process and my mouth gets sore. I have a peg tube and am inputting 8 to 10 cans of Jevity per day. If I had to eat 3000 calories per day it would take me all day to eat. I'm told I have to eat to exercise my new mouth muscles and thats what i'm doing. I have trouble opening my mouth real wide like pre-op but it's getting better. I went out for dinner yesterday after radiation with my brother and he was done eating a cup of soup and a steak sandwich and I was about 1/3 done with a bowl of soup and about 1/5 done with a hamburger.
As you can see real slow going.

I am a roofing and siding estimator and I made enough pre-op 7/31/03 that I am covered until next March, which is about 5 months post rad. I plan on being ready to work mid March. My wife is a nurse and we were always frugal so we are lucky that way. I wish your husband all the best, Dan

Hi Jen ,like Gary, it took me about 6 months before I returned to my previous job. Actually if not for the severe depression I was in , I could have been able to resume my work earlier.I began working for just a few hours every day for three weeks then switched to full time until now. Since then I have taken up 100% of my duties. As for food, I could eat solid food a month post treatment and with trial and error, the food list grew bigger and bigger. I started from soft vegetables, melon, fish and congee to ribs, steak and chicken wings. The process is gradual and slow.Pizza, biscuits and sandwiches are no problem with a full glass of water. Two years post diagnosis, with constant exercise, I feel even more energetic than when I was young. So stay positive and there is always hope.

Karen stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01.

Hmmmm....now I'm starting to question things.

Granted, Dennis has always told the doctors that he can't eat normally. (We are 10 months out of chemo and rad) To this day, the doctor's tend to brush it off, and ask how he has managed to maintain his weight. He always gives me credit due to the Mega-shakes.

They tend to grip him by the shoulder and tell him to love his wife. No real answers.

The latest scans are clean....no mets.....questionable uptake on the PET in the tongue area, but no visable signs.

Should we accept this as the downfall to his treatment and just get on with life....even if it is forever limited to fluids?

Just wondering,
Mandi

I had tongue cancer, so my surgery was different, but I did go through the radiation part twice. After the surgery, about 10 days to 2 weeks from release from hospital I was back to eating pretty much normally. After radiation, about 3 weeks the first time, 2 weeks the second time.

First time around It took about a month before I went back to work part time, mostly because my energy level was trashed. Second time around seems I accidentally went back to work about a week and a half after finishing radiation.

I know everyone is different, but it seems that 10 months out is a long time unless there is extenuating circumstances.

As far as the questionable uptake on the PET, as part of the healing process the muscles tend to use up glucose, which shows up as higher uptake on PET scan. Next scan should show less.
Bob

Hi Jen, I was able to eat by mouth 2 months post
radiation (soup/cereal). 3 month post, I could
eat more solid foods, but not much taste. Taste
went from "horrible" during radiation to no
taste after radiation. At 4 months, taste started
to come back, but would last only a few bites.
Kinda frustrating to taste a few bites, then
nothing. I am now at more than 1 year post and
can eat most anything except fruits (they still
taste bad). O-O

i went back to work 2 months after rad(35)/chemo.

peg came out 1 yr after treatment.

after 2 yrs, i have just started really eating again... thanks to two esogas ballon sessions... a third to come... secondary rad messed things up down there. it was the size of the wire used for a large paperclip. now it is 80% of normal... which i think is 50 mm or about 2 inches.

real food tastes great, work is a pleasure.

cu,
larryb

Hi,

My friend Eric is four weeks past RAD and still just drinking Boost. Yesterday he tried some very runny eggs and immediately vomited. He still is on lost of pain meds. Any suggestions for the best foods to try first? He hasn't eaten solid food in about six weeks.

(Mark I can't believe you were able to eat prime rib... awesome!)

Jack