Found a lump in my throat in January that didn't respond to antibiotics and steriods. Led to an ultrasound, which led to a CT scan, and then a biopsy... turned out to be stage 2 throat cancer that hadn't metastasized (spread elsewhere), so very treatable.
Started chemo and radiation yesterday. Two mega-sessions of chemo every three weeks and seven weeks of radiation.
Literally and figuratively, it's a major pain in the neck. The cath port and PEG tube surgery were especially bothersome. Catch it early if you can!
Edit 4/21/2022
Thought I might try to journal how the treatments are going here for anyone thats interested. Likely will find I skip a few days here and there on days where nothing much changes.
4/20/2022 - Back to work after taking Friday, Monday and Tuesday off. - felt good being productive. Broke for my radiation therapy for about an hour... fell asleep inside of 10 minutes in the waiting room and had to be roused awake (man that was weird). During radiation, the oncologist watched what was going on and adjusted the targeting slightly.
Sleep patterns seem to be changing a bit... fast asleep by 6:30 pm, for 8+ hours. Nausea seems to be the predominant symptom and the only thing related to the cancer treatment that I'm taking medication for. Appears I've lost about 4 lbs since Monday (6'1" , 196 lbs).
4/21/2022 - Managed to stay awake throughout today's radiation session. Pulse measured at a somewhat low 45 bpm. Still no real pain from the radiation therapy.
Work was fine, but felt a bit foggy and caught myself rambling a bit at times.
I've whipped up a few old favorites in the kitchen, but everything has a distinct metallic taste... probably just as well, given the persistent nausea, although the nausea may be abating.
4/24/2022 - Everything still has a metallic taste, including water... really weird. Down about 9 lbs so far. Spent a few hours outside, hanging with friends. Almost didn't, as I was dragging, but it left me invigorated and feeling better than I have all week.
4/25/2022 - Start of Week 2 of radiation, still no real radiation-related discomfort noted. Saw the doctor today who admonished me to use the PEG tube... I'm down 12 lbs in one week according to his scale.
4/30/2022 - The farther I get from the first round of chemo, the better I feel. Taste and smell still badly out of whack, but haven't needed much in the way of nausea relief for a few days now. No real discomfort from radiation treatments so far. Weight down 14 lbs.
5/05/22 - Started experiencing elevated throat pain a couple of days ago, a result of the ongoing radiation treatments. Feels like a very bad sore throat.
5/11/2022 - Completed the final round of chemo therapy yesterday, which was identical to the first round three weeks ago. Expecting the effects of the chemo to land in full Thursday or Friday. Will still need to visit the chemo center every six weeks or so for cath port maintenance (Heparin to prevent blood clotting from plugging up the port).
Today will also mark the midpoint of my radiation therapy. I spend a good deal of time managing an extremely sore throat (Advil, a prescription elixer, peppermint tea, etc...), along with an extremely dry mouth (frequent brushing, mouthwash), but the size of the lump in my neck feels like it's about half the size of was at the beginning, so feels like progress is being made.
5/18/2022 - Doctors feel I've held up to the chemo and radiation pretty well so far, so much so that the chemo oncologist suggested another round of Cisplatin, etc..., on the theory that 'more is better' if I can take it. So another 10 hours of chemo coming up in a couple of weeks.
Down 25lbs after 4 1/2 weeks.
5/24/2022 - Sore throat is growing worse after abating for a while. Getting fatigued pretty quickly, probably need to up my calorie intake via the PEG tube. Currently unable to eat any solid food, but thankfully am able to tolerate water and tea. Very much looking forward to the end of therapy and the start of recovery.
6/04/2022 - The cumulative effects of the radiation has gotten quite noticeable. Throat pain requires narcotics every four hours, the skin on my neck from my ears almost down to my collarbone is quite red, and the hair on the back of my head from about the neckline to about a third of the way up has disappeared... looks like a really bad do-it-yourself haircut. But the lump in my neck feels like it's completely gone!
All done with chemo and have just one radiation session left (Monday). Down ~30lbs at this point, looking forward to writing about my recovery from the therapy!
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