Chemo and radiotherapy to face and neck

Hi Lady66h

Im Dani and in December January 2018/2019 I had 6 weeks of radiotherapy for a cancer at the base of my tongue  

19 months after treatment finished I still suffer with a dry mouth but my life is largely back to normal  

There are unavoidable side effects you’re right but it is possible to cope. 
Try to keep your mouth as clean as possible and if you can’t brush at least use the mouthwashes you’ll be given. A water pic might be a good thing to use.

You will see you radiographers every day and they are your first point of call for problems as they arise

You will get mouth sores which usually start around the end of week three. It can make eating not only difficult but impossible. Take care of your pain control. There are lots of analgesics at your disposal and most of us end up on morphine.

You don’t mention a feeding tube so I presume you haven’t been offered a PEG ( stomach tube)

I had a nasogastric tube placed the end of week three and it was a life saver  it doesn’t hurt, its easily placed and lets you take liquid nutrition and medication to keep you going without struggling  

You can do it. I was 67 when I was diagnosed and though it wasn’t easy I managed to struggle through. The weeks  pass by and you do get there. 

There are lots of people here who have survived and thrived with the same cancer. There’s lots of help so pop back as and when problems arise and you’ll get help. 
Good luck and don’t be frightened. The doctors are good at what they do. We are good at knowing how you feel. 

Hi there

I also had 30 RT and 2 chemo with left neck dissection and unknown primary. I got through my treatment with no peg/tube, only 2 mouth ulcers so could still eat tiny amounts, and no morphine-just paracetamol/co-codamol. The chemo was never painful, nor the RT, just side effects. I'm 10 months post treatment and just had a bacon/mayo/lettuce sandwich with pappy sliced bread, first time. So there is a huge improvement for me. Ask away if I can be of help as to what I did through treatment. We are all different in how our bodies react, so I hope yours takes the kind route.

Tricia

Good evening Lady66h. sorry you find yourself in this position please do not be scared as not everyone suffers bad side affects from the treatment, I had chemo and radiotherapy and did not really suffer that badly. My main thing was tiredness and fatigue plus a bit of soreness around the neck area from the radiotherapy but nothing too painful. Again with eating and swallowing it depends on person to person but I expect it will become difficult midway through the treatment whereas Dani said you might need a feeding tube either a PEG or NG so it might be worth mentioning this. I had my PEG fitted during my first operation so thankfully it was ready for when I needed it, which I did and it was a godsend. I still carry a small bottle of water with me due to the dryness of my mouth. Im sure once you start you will have questions and need advice so please re-post when needed. Many people here have heard me with these sayings "it's not a walk in the park" but "its doable " he was right and im now over 10 years clear of cancer. Wishing you all the very best for the 2nd of September, take care.

                                                                                                           Chris x

Lovely post Piya10 im sure it will give Lady66h a bit more confidence, thanks for posting.

                                                           Chris x 

As others are saying it is different for everyone how your body reacts to radiotherapy. I have had radiotherapy to my mouth twice once in 2016 to the right side and then in 2020 on my left side.

The first time in 2016 it was really difficult and I ended up losing 10k.g.s. I ended up using a solution called Xylocain to deaden my mouth before I ate and then quickly ate as much pureed food as I could manage before the deadening solution lost its effect.

I also relied heavily on pain killers including Panadol, liquid morphine and Fentanyl patches which helped. My mouth was so painful I could not even get a toothbrush into it and had to use mouthwashes.

This time around they told me that methods had improved considerably and they could localize where the radiotherapy went. It was so much easier as I only got a few mouth ulcers on the left side of my mouth instead of all over. I was able to continue to clean my teeth and found eating a lot easier even though the food still had to be pureed. I only lost a couple of k.g this time around.

I did still rely heavily on pain relief as before. I found that regular Panadol did make a huge difference in between the stronger painkillers.

 I was so dreading radiotherapy the second time around but found it was much easier showing that even with the same person your experience can be different.

I feel really well now after finishing my radiotherapy in Feb this year. It takes a while to get your energy back but once it kicks in again there is no holding you back.

Keep up the painkillers, take each day at a time and you will get through it. Just watch out for week 3 as that is when things can start to get difficult.

Best of luck

Lyn

Hi Lady 66h

i am two years post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes I had 35 radiotherapy sessions and 2 chemotherapy sessions.If you click my profile there is a link to my blog and others with links to several head and neck sites. The treatment is pretty brutal just where it is , but it is doable I am a wimp and I did it.Some people are offered pegs or in my case I had a n g feeding tube fitted week 4. niw I have some dry mouth mostly at night I always carry water with me ,eating wise I am doing ok , some things are still difficult but life is good.

any questions just ask or send me a friend request if you want a private chat.

Hazel x