Hello, I’m a new member . Diagnosed in December.

Hi St John welcome to the club that none of us want to join. Wecare a small knit community who are a friendly bunch. Yes takes time to get your head sorted   I am now 30month post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes. I was 61 when diagnosed snd now living my life to the max If I say today wecare at daughters allotment that says it all ‘n once you get treatment plan things fall into place.   There’s a link to my blog when you are ready. Ask any questions we are only too happy to help. 
Hazel 

Excuse typos not got glasses on lol 

Hi Hazel, 

Thanks , much appreciated I will

have a look at your blog.

Hi 51John and welcome to the site.  We are here to help as best as we can through your treatment and the "living with cancer" stage.

A year ago I had surgery and that was all - tonsils and neck.  So I can't advise on what the radiotherapy will be like, but there are plenty who have been through it and out the other side with good long term recoveries.  What I will say is that keep on top of your neck dissection.  Massage the scar and use some cream to ease the scar tissue.  It may feel tight and you may have other longer term muscular issues which often can quite effectively be managed by physio.  Good luck with the coming treatment.

Hi Peter ,

My neck , chest and shoulder are     giving me gip at the moment . I’m trying to do the physio exercises, but quite painful still.
Thanks for the advice on the dissection and scar.

John

Hi John. Welcome to the community. You've come to the right place for tips and support. Our clinicians are good at what they do and you have an eminently curable cancer but we can help on a day to day basis with lots of other things. I had base of tongue cancer that was treated with radiotherapy only and I have just celebrated 2 years in remission. Life is back to normal.....ish and I am enjoying peace and quiet in the welsh countryside. My UPDATE POST might give you a little encouragement

As well as Hazel who has answered you Cymru123 has a blog here on Macmillan BLOG which you might find useful when you are ready.

You'll suffer information overload if you try to get everything under your belt at once so best address problems as they arise.

We are all different in the way treatment affects us, so what one person has a problem with is dealt with easily by another. One thing common to us all is the difficulty in eating that you will encounter. Your oncologist will discuss all this with you, no doubt.

Take the time before Wednesday to think of questions that you might want to ask and make a list to take in with you.

Macmillan have a list of questions you might want to ask ........ QUESTIONS The information is a bit broad but you might find bits useful

Best of luck and keep in touch

Hi Dani,

Thanks for that. Yes it is the effect on my swallow/eating which is worrying me about the treatment. I will check out your blog. 
Thanks again

John,

I described the chest like having bad sunburn without the redness!  And I can lift a bag of cement close to my body, but can't reach for a cup of tea.  Really strange sensations.

I found heat really does help  I had a heated pad initially and now I use a massaging shower head in the mornings with the water as hot as I can stand it.  I find that gets me going and I have learned to use my right arm in a manner that does not cause too much discomfort.

I tried to incorporate the physio exercises into my daily life.  I found them much easier to do as there was a reason for doing them rather than just doing them in isolation.

It does get noticeably better with time.  

John. The pain of mucositis ( ulcers) is controllable with adequate analgesia. Try not to worry about it. Looking at posts here in the last couple of years the blokes seem to come out better than us ladies. If I can cope so will you. If you need to use a tube to feed don’t hesitate. There’s little point in being brave. Getting adequate nutrition to let your body heal is paramount. You can maintain swallow with exercises. I’m sure you’ll get some from your speech and language team ( SALT) and there is a post in my blog describing some. 

Hi 51John

I was diagnosed with base of tongue cancer in May 2018 and in June of that year  I had a neck dissection and TORS followed several weeks later by radiotherapy.

There are many of us who have had similar diagnoses and treatments and come out the other side.

As Dani (Beesuit) says, rather than bombard you with lots of information at this stage it may be easier for you to ask specific questions as and when they arise.

Good luck with your appt on Wednesday.

Linda x

Thanks Dani, 

Thatsngood to hear.

I already have exercises for my swallow which I’m trying to keep up with. I have just read your 2 year update post which is  very inspiring and helpful .

thanks

john