Just diagnosed

Good evening Nicky -lou, this is good news that it's just the tonsil area affected and nowhere else, I have never had tonsil cancer but I don't think he will be out of work for that long but will have to take it easy to begin with. Depends what treatment will be done as this CAN delay going back to work, the further the treatment goes on the more tired, fatigued he MIGHT become as the side effects come into effect. It sounds as if he like a lot of us and hates it when we cannot do anything productive but he might have to listen to his body and take it easy and rest up. I know we say this all the time but recovery etc varies from person to person, but I think your husband will not let it hold him back, if possible, which is a good attitude to take. Hopefully, someone who has had tonsil cancer will shed some more light on the subject. Thanks for posting , we will try our best to help you and your husband through it all. All the best, take care.

                                                                                    Chris x

Hi Nicky

My husband had the same diagnosed last April.  He had a tonsillectomy followed by 6 weeks radiotherapy.  The tonsillectomy and biopsy will make his throat pretty sore, so he may feel under the weather.  The radiotherapy effects kick in at about week 4 and are at their worst for some weeks after treatment ends, gradually improving.  There's no disguising it's a hard treatment but the prognosis for this is good, you will find a lot of people on here who have had a very positive outcome.   

Good luck with everything

B

HI thus  is Hazel I am 16 month post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer, I wouldn’t worry about getting  him tonrest  as others have already s said the treatment I said pretty brutal you only have to think where it isn’t the mouth and throat , it’s feasible that he won’t want to be charging around for a good while .whikst I was in treatment I had 2 guys going g through trrayment with  me they both had physical jobs and we’re in late 40 s neither of them after 3/4 weeks treatment gave work a thought. the plus point about our type of cancer is the excellent prognosis, ok Tranent hard recovery varied but outcome good so take comfort from that, when you feel up to  it I have a blog detail my experiences just remember  we are all different , at 8 weeks post radiotherapy I managed to get to spain for 3 weeks at the time everyone said I was crazy but it did me good .

Hazel x

Hi all

Thank you for you’re replies, we have a op date for the 14th jan, we were told he will be pretty rough after the op and also may need physio therapy on his right arm due the lymph gland being so near the arms nerves has anyone else had this? he’s more concerned about that due to him being a store man and how it affect him in his job more than anything.

just wondering how old you all were when you were diagnosed as neill is only 37.

nicky x

I was 54 when diagnosed nicky and yes I lost mobility in my shoulder after the surgery. But the result is that I can't without thinking reach up with my right arm, when I do think about it I just need to do it from a different angle and it's fine. Difficult to describe but he'll have physio and I'm sure he'll be fine. 

I still forget from time to time reaching up for a pint of milk for example and I might say something like "ouch" (or a slightly more colourful four letter word) but it's a small price to pay.

Good evening Nicky , pleased you have got a date now, I believe there a few of us on here who have had problems with their arms, mine was the left-hand side. I did not need to see a physio but was given exercises to do by my consultant which done the trick,  I cannot remember offhand how long it took to recover, maybe two months. Please do not worry about work too much as he needs to recover and it will depend on the advice from his consultant when he thinks he can go back, I'm positive he is covered by law reference time off sick for cancer. My firm paid me full sick pay for the first 6 months then half pay for the next 6 months which I thought was very good as it was only a small firm. I did have six months of (not because of my arm ) and went back part-time to make up my pay. I honestly do not know what benefits are available now as mine all started in 2008 and times have changed, I believe for the better.

    I was 48 when I first got cancer, it was floor of the mouth cancer. Hopefully, your boyfriend will have the operation with no bad side effects with his arm or any other part of the operation and make a quick recovery as age is on his side as the younger we are the better and quicker recovery can become. So i would say just get the operation done then take it one day at a time to see how he recovers.

    I used to work repairing and making ships so it was heavy work , dirty, and noisy so for this reason, I did not rush back and waited until I and my consultant thought it was safe for me to start on light duties to begin with. Hope you had a good Christmas, best wishes , take care.

                                                           Chris x

Hi 

just wondering what you were all like after surgery, how dependent were you for the 1st week as I’m trying to arrange my work but unsure just how restricted he will be.

Hi Nicky, i think my wife took two weeks off work when came home from surgery just in case i needed anything although my surgery was for floor of the mouth where i had skin grafts etc. Maybe pre-warn your work that you might need to take time off work as you are not sure how the operation will affect his mobility etc. Best wishes.

                                                                Chris x

I can't answer because my wife was retired so was there, all I will say is that I think I would of been ok it was the radio chemo that I really needed the support through though I might of been worse than I should of as I had C-diff so was really run down by then, I spent the last week in hospital and it was the best week, no sitting in a car for half to 3/4 of an hour each way wheel chair to radio, bliss lol.

Hi 
So neill has his tonsillectomy, neck dissection and also laser treatment on his tongue on Tuesday, he had a few issues with low blood pressure but was let home tuesday.

Everything has been going fairly ok but today his pain has been unbearable for him, he’s struggling with drinking water, eating is awful for him and finding it hard to get his meds into him.

I have contacted the hospital which in all honesty was useless they told me he needs to chew some chewing gum, I don’t actually think the nurse listened to a word I said.I want to take him back to the hospital but he’s being stubborn about it.

has anyone got any advice with anything else I can do to try and help him

thanks

nicky