My last day of Radation was Jan.9th, 2008. So I am 2 weeks out and my throat pain has decreased a little. I went on here and searched throat and found that I am far from being able to eat normal. Every post that I read wasn't really good news. But what good news can you really expect under these conditions. So being 2 weeks out of Radiation I can drink just a little water. I have a lot of mucus that I have to hack up every hour. The Miracle Mouth Wash has worked very well for me. Just wanted to get any input and words of encouragement. I also begin my 3rd round of Chemo Monday and then just have 1 more round then I am finshed.

Tammy, what you describe is exactly what I encountered... my last day of radiation was Dec 4th, about 7 weeks ago. I am not familiar with Miracle mouthwash, but I found that regular rinsing and gargling with salt water helped with the mucus a bit. I still have some mucus, but not near as much as before. It will gradually subside Tammy, and you will find yourself being able to handle soft foods like soup and such. Be patient, take it easy, try more and more small bites of pasta, soft beans, milktoast, well-cooked veggies, etc. Take in plenty of your liquid nourishment too. You might be sensitive to hot/cold food and beverage temps... I have to have everything lukewarm. And don't be surprised if things taste a lot different, or have no taste at all.

Tammy,

I was probably 3 weeks post Tx before I felt like I walked out of that Tx tunnel. I up my calories to 3000 a day mainly by drinking 6 cans of VHC a day plus everyday I tried some semi solid food like fruit cocktail, mashed potatoes w/ gravy, canned soup with something in it and even mac n cheese. Just do what you can and don't expect to eat full portions of anything for a long time, just be satisfied to take a few bites and don't be surprised if you get tired of eating. Your saliva, taste and strength will begin to improve over a long period of time. This recovery process is very slow but you are on your way and the worse is OVER. Welcome back.

Tammy:

Hang in there. The road to recovery is unfortunately quite a long one. To me, it sounds like you are doing very well. When I was 2 weeks post radiation, I was still in bed and slept about 20 hours a day. As time goes on everything gets easier.

Thank you for the feed back. I knew I would get support. Glad to hear all 3 of you are on your way to recovery. Oh and ChristineB I am so happy to hear your PET scan was clear, it deserves a Hurray. Everyone take care and enjoy life !!

Tammy,

Did they ever tell what they thought caused your cancer?

They have no idea why I have Tongue Cancer. The only thing is that I had a Hysteretomy in 1998 and I did not have cancer but I did have the Squamous Cells that they found on my tongue. So there could be a link but Cancer is so unknown that they can not confirm there is a for sure link. I have not heard how anyone that does not smoke got Oral Cancer. What have you heard or what did they tell you. I hear talk it's the water and food we get.

Hi Tammy- I smoked briefly in college but haven't smoked in 7 years and somehow I got tongue cancer too. Basically its just bad luck. There are so many different factors that could have caused our cancer-- some studies have pointed to HPV exposure-- have you been tested for htis? Lots of info on this site related ot that.. - it coudl have been contaminated water- you could have breathed in something unknowingly- Repeated trauma to the tongue can cause the cells to come back as cancerous... Mainly its just that we for whatever reason had cells in our tongues that had the genetic pre-disposition to turn into cancerous scc cells and something triggered them to turn into those cancerous cells. Some people can smoke thier whole lives and never have cells that run into cancer.
Maybe the cigarettes that I did smoke caused them-- mayeb I had an exray a the dentist that caused it-- who knows.

anyways-- I knwo this is an awful horrible disease to deal with-- just don't get too hung up on why it happened - moreimportant to focus with irradiating it from your body and rehabilitatiing rom the sugery and treatments.

How are you feeling??

Hang in there~~~~

David,

With all due respect, unless someone tests positive for HPV (and maybe even if they do) it is always going to be no more than an educated guess what the cause of their cancer is. That's why medical journals don't publish case studies usually because WHY questions can't be answered by looking at an individual case--there are too manhy possible factors and nothing controlled, as they would be in clinical trials.

I respect that you are asking this question out of curiousity--you did say you once thought about getting a medical degree-- but the way to answer a question like that is read published research. Not ask people here to give you an explanation they don't have and really can't possibly get in most cases.

The part I feel you are not getting is how frustrating it can be, when you are in a bad spot, to be given the epxectation from someone else that you should explain how you got there. "Why" questions seem important to me when it might affect a decision you make "eg. "Did your doctor say why he recommended just radiation but not chemo?" but they are worse than useless, even if they COULD be answered, when someone is looking for support.

Questions such as "why did your dysphagia happen to you when it doesn't happen to other people", "why did your husband have a recurrence that is now demed terminal", "why did you get tongue cancer"--all of which I've seen you ask in the last week or so--are not supportive IMO. We are not here to be case studies for someone's curiosity.

Again, I say this with respect for your curiousity, which I have myself as a result of scientific training, as well as for your good intentions. I know you are not intending to make anyone feel worse. But having been on the other end of this I have to say that is how it made me feel.

I also, though would ask you to examine yourself for why you have the urge to ask "why" so much. The psychology of this is that often we ask "why" when even if we got that answer, it isn't really going to fill the need we had when asking. We ask why to give ourselves some illusion of control--that if we know why somehting bad happened to someone else, maybe we can feel safer that it won't happen to us. It is sometimes a question asked out of fear, is wnhat I'm saying.

Just something to consider.

Nelie

Nelie,

For some reason you seem to have it out for me and you read way more into my posts that need be. I ask why because I either want to know or I think knowing the answer may benefit the person I'm asking. Not that I owe you an explanation, but I don't spend hours a day responding to fellow people in need to address my fears. If I had that kind I fear issues, I wouldn't visit this site at all. Bottom line, I don't question your posts and I expect the same from you.