I hope this might be helpful to anyone setting out on a similar journey to my own (tonsillar cancer, TORS removal of right tonsil with neck dissection followed by 30 fractions of R/T and concurrent Cisplatin x1 and Carboplatin x4.) Treatment ended on 2nd Jan 2021. All undertaken by an incredible team during the Covid crisis.
This can seem a never ending rollercoaster of a journey with its ups and downs, and even seemingly going backwards at times, but it does improve.
Well, it’s now 7 weeks since I finished treatment and things are definitely improving, albeit veeeery sloooowly. I had a good birthday on Wednesday and enjoyed very slimy tagliatelle with seafood and lots of sauce followed by THE most amazing and calorie-laden sherry trifle. My throat suffered a slight setback afterwards but it was well worth it!
The ulceration around my excision site persists and got me down a bit later in the week. However Dani, Hazel, Linda and Trev gave me a talking to and I felt much better afterwards. Thanks chaps.
I’ve reduced pain relief to paracetamol four times a day with the odd ibuprofen thrown in if things flare up. I’ve now stopped MST altogether. I was warned by my doc that painkillers could lessen the pain but not eliminate it, so the remaining soreness I am prepared put up with especially as it’s now tolerable rather than debilitating. When I look back even to just a couple of weeks ago there’s been a huge improvement, even though day to day progress has sometimes seemed to be almost static.
The pesky lymphodema beneath my chin still wibbles and wobbles about and shows little sign of shifting. I’ve found some drainage exercises to do (thanks Dani) so am religiously trying to stroke it away several times a day. One of the many drawbacks of Covid is not being able to attend a lymphodema clinic. Hey ho. Needs must, and it’s a very small price to pay.
So overall at the end of week 7 post treatment I’m cautiously happy. The inside of my mouth and throat seems to change a little daily, with the odd little lumps and sores appearing and then disappearing. But my eating is getting better and my sleeping is improving, despite the ongoing dry mouth at night.
The sun is out, the birds are singing, the heating is no longer on full blast and I’m cautiously optimistic that I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.
A smart move mark 
I have done some incredibly stupid things, a few weeks before that, i was still on soft food.
For some reason (dont ask me why!) i decided it would be a great idea to eat beans with a dash of extra strong chilli!
OH...MY....GOD... i never knew a human being could consume the amount of water i drank afterwards
Hi my husband got a collar to wear at night which really reduced the swelling ..u may be able to get a zoom call with the nurses to show u how massage or a partner if u have someone who would do it for u ..we used a basic almond oil ..good luck with yr recovery we r going in for round 2 next thurs unfortunately 
