That’s week two done, or 1/3 through treatment.
Things are ok, energy levels are starting to dip and I can feel tenderness in the back of the throat and on my tongue. My saliva production is a bit diminished so I’m waking in the morning with a tongue as dry as a nomad’s flip flop.
I’m still able to swallow a normal range of foods, but the problem is that I can’t taste anything!!! It’s something I hadn’t prepared for and something that is really affecting my positivity. I can deal with a bit of pain and if it gets a bit more painful, then there are drugs that make it more bearable, but with taste, it’s there one minute and gone the next, no drug or mouthwash will bring it back! I’m hopeful this is a temporary thing and something that will come back once the treatment is over, but at the moment every meal is a psychological battle in reminding myself that this food is good for me and needs to be eaten.
All that said, my meeting with the amazing staff at the hospital today was very positive, with all of my symptoms were noted and are expected at this stage of treatment.
I know the next four weeks are going to be tough, but remain optimistic for the long run.
Going back to my battle analogy; we’re now dug in and every day there are a few skirmishes where we are making some dents in the enemy’s defences. There’s been some collateral damage, but we know that victory will be ours in due course. Just need to keep up the good work. The battle will feel like it’s going on for an eternity, and battle fatigue may set in! With that we must remember what the fight is for and that peace will be here soon enough. Day to day life will slowly return to normal and eventually the war will be filed to the archive as a battle well fought and the enemy forgotten.
