Hi. I'm new here. I've had surgery to remove a stage 1 SCC from my tongue and had my lymph nodes removed from the left of my neck. I've just been told I need radiotherapy as there was one positive node and the excision border was only just clear of the tumour. I'm really scared. What advice would you give me? I feel like my life is down the pan, a little dramatic I know. I'm looking for advice or encouragment, looking at Google just makes things worse.
Richard
Hi Rich, sorry you find yourself here.
As the others have suggested it's no picnic going through RT but there are loads of us here who've done it and come out the other side, battered and bruised along the way for sure, but still living good lives.
My RT was back in 2014 so a bit of a distant memory now, you'll get through!
Metastatic SCC diagnosed 8th October 2013. Modified radical neck dissection November, thirty-five radiotherapy fractions with 2xCisplatin chemo Jan/Feb 2014. Recurrence on larynx diagnosed July 2020 so salvage laryngectomy in September 2020.
Hi Rich. Sorry to see you here. I’m over three and a half years clear and while RT was extremely challenging and I needed a feeding tube for some weeks I recovered very well and 12 weeks after treatment end I managed to eat a steak. Most of us make a good recovery.
Google can be very useful. You can find videos from the cancer centres about radiotherapy and the preparation for it such as mask making so it is a useful tool. What I urge you to do is not look at statistics, which by their nature are retrospective, and are superseded very quickly by modern techniques.
Remember all this is new to you but your team do this stuff every day and are good at it.
Stick with us and we will all get you through
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
Rich, you will.
You feel defeatist because none of this is under your control. Your body belongs to your team and your mind is playing silly tricks. You will get there a day at a time. Promise
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
If experience is anything to go by, it'll get "easier" once everything is finalised and you have a treatment plan in place, I think pretty much everyone on here has felt that. As Dani said, also always remember that however challenging things feel for you, for your team it's routine stuff, keep talking to them (and us); no such thing as a silly question
Metastatic SCC diagnosed 8th October 2013. Modified radical neck dissection November, thirty-five radiotherapy fractions with 2xCisplatin chemo Jan/Feb 2014. Recurrence on larynx diagnosed July 2020 so salvage laryngectomy in September 2020.
Good evening Richard, please put all the so-called information on google to the back of your head, the people who write this stuff have not even had treatment in many cases. Each one of us is different in how we cope and manage our cancer journeys also how the body reacts, also each area is different mine all started in 2008 and can honestly say that there was nothing horrific about my surgery or treatment after, the radiotherapy is worse than surgery because of the side effects it MIGHT have. Your life is definitely not going down the pan it's just one of lifes problems that many of us go through sometimes but we learn to overcome and adapt by dealing with the challenges as they come along with fantastic end results. For me, radiotherapy was not too bad but for others it was not such an easy ride day by day you will get there. This time next year if all goes to plan you will be in a lot better place, stay strong, and take care.
Chris
Its sometimes not easy but its worth it !
