advice please

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Hi all I am now nearly 4 weeks post treatment of 30 radio and 6 chemo .  I thought by now the swelling in throat or related pain would start to subside a bit.  Still taking Morphine 40ml and 2 x paracetamol  4 times per 24 hrs .  Is this usual to still be on painkillers at this stage.  Also only food is through tube as throat too sore to eat also food tastes disgusting.  Mucus bad same as ever so is this a normal state of affairs at this stage. Many thanks for your advice .  Alan

  • I was still taking MST (morphine), paracetamol and ibuprofen continuously at this stage and was still feeling pretty wretched. So yes, I think it’s quite usual. But the good news is that you should be over the worst now and your body is slowly, even imperceptibly, healing. Thinking of you. 

  • Hi Alan as Marc has said it’s not unusual. By week 3 I had started to orally sip ensures 6 a day. My n g tube was taken out so it was a case if needs must. I was on painkillers for at least 10 weeks slowly reducing them do not stop all at once a phased withdrawal when you’re ready  It’s a marathon not a sprint   Week 1: is usually a good turning point again not hard n fast we are all different. Just remember treatments pretty brutal do recovery takes time. Give thus a read uts an excellent piece written by s cancer df at Leeds cancer centre. 
    https://www.workingwithcancer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/After-the-treatment-finishes-then-what.pdf
    Hazek 

    Hazel aka RadioactiveRaz 

    My blog is www.radioactiveraz.wordpress.com  HPV 16+ tonsil cancer Now  6 years  post treatment. 35 radiotherapy 2 chemo T2N2NM.Happily getting on with living always happy to help

    2 videos I’ve been involved with raising awareness of HNC and HPV cancers 

    https://www.instagram.com/merckhealthcare/reel/DBs8Y0niJ8N/

  • Hi Alan. I was on morphine for 12 weeks after. But that was probably too long.I just got into the habit of taking it  My oncologist was quite disappointed. So I went home and took a week to reduce the dose to zero but kept on with the paracetamol for another month. 

    My NG tube came out at 6 weeks because I vomited it up so it stayed out. It took another six weeks before I could eat proper food. I ate a steak but it tasted of nothing. 

    Dani 

    Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019

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