Hello, newbie here

Hi Kelly 

welcome to you and your dad sorry you find yourself here. Looking at your dad’s diagnosis T1N1NM at least it’s an early stages I was T2N2NM I was 61 when diagnosed . Not everyone gets the same side effects.  remember that. The treatments hard the recovery can be months instead of weeks. Just take it day by day pop on with any questions you may have someone will try and help out. Does your Dad know his h p v status. 
one thing the first 2 weeks apart  from travelling daily to hospital he should  be ok side effects start usually from week 3 

Hazel x

Thanks for your reply Hazel. His HPV is 16+ which I believe is a good thing? Much appreciate the forewarning about week 3. Will bare this in mind once we get his treatment plan. I'll take a look at your blog too. 

Hi Kelly yes the h p v 16+ means our tumours respond well to treatment. Your dads beaten 2 cancers he can beat this. If he is offered a peg ( tummy feeding tube) I would say take it. I was told a n g tube if I needed it snd yes I needed it. Done do manage soft foods all wzy through many of us don’t. Do get dad to talk to his  team. Also pain killers the clues in the name if he needs them and again most of us do the secret is to keep on top of them by rote. Ie don’t wait for pain keep topped up 

thank you for reading my blog there’s links to others as well 

Hazel x

Hello Kelly and welcome to our little community. So sorry your dad is having yet another encounter with cancer but it sounds as if he is lucky to have you to fight his corner.
Radiotherapy is a difficult treatment but it’s doable a day at a time and with proper analgesia and nutrition.
As Hazel says side effects kick in at around end of week two reaching a peak at around two or three weeks after treatment ends. By  six weeks he should be emerging from the fog and 12 weeks usually sees a turned corner. There are lots of people here to help out and many are in the middle of treatment or just out if it. There experiences are invaluable and I’m sure somebody will be on in a trice

I am two years out of 6 weeks radiotherapy and living well 

You will have questions so do pop back as and when they arise, trying to get answers to all of them now is information  overload. 
Hang on in there and stay off Google. 
Good luck and best wishes. 

Hi Kelly

 I am so sorry to hear that your father has another encounter with cancer it must be hard for him and you as his main supporter.

Is there anyone else who can help out with supporting him if required, maybe friends?

 I know I found it really helpful when one of my daughters volunteered to drive me to radiotherapy in week 3 until I completed my treatment as the emotional support meant a lot to me. I do have a supportive husband but the extra back up from my daughter was a big help.

It is hard when you are working to take time off although there may be options for carer’s leave but that is only available for so long.

The cancer journey can be a long one as previously mentioned and it can take months rather than weeks before you start to get back on top of things especially if radiotherapy or chemotherapy are required.

As a supporter/carer you need to be able to pace yourself. Not that your father will need help 24/7but back up as needed.

Best wishes to you both.

Lyn

xx

Hi Kelly

Welcome and I am sure you Dad will really appreciate your help over the coming weeks.  We're here to support both of you from our own experiences - each of which will be slightly different to your Dad's as every pathway is unique.

I am similar to your Dad - or was!  My primary has now been found after 15 months of "watchful waiting".  

I would take each step as it comes and not worry about the full pathway just now until they really know what they are dealing with.

The panendoscopy is a grand term for a good look around the mouth, throat and sometimes bits further down whilst under a general.  It makes I so much more comfortable. I had one in January with a tongue biopsy and was out a few hours later and fully recovered within a week.  The after effects are mainly the GA coming out the system.

The tonsillectomy is quite manageable, but I will warn incredibly painful.  Keep up with the pain meds even if he does not think he needs it.  Almost certainly the pain will go by day 12.  Initially it seduces you into thinking it is easy then builds from around day 3 or 4 until dropping off and a distant memory around day 12.  Kids have it so much easier!

Eating should not be a real problem for most people.  I found soft foods, just lukewarm tolerable after a couple of days.  Probably by day 5 I was on cottage pie.  Keep off anything with acid in it (orange juice, ketchup etc) or he will be on the ceiling!  Other than that I found honey worked wonders if taken with the pain meds.  

Remember to keep hydrated and if you can get soluble paracetamol and ibuprofen that will make it easier to get down in the first few days.

I was up and walking the dog 2 days after every operation I have had for this cancer (heading towards my 5th now).  That said I was very tired and needed naps during the day.  Depending on how long they keep him in (one go at my tonsils was day surgery, the final an overnight stay) he may need you to be with him for the first couple of days just to make sure he is OK, does not overdo it and falls etc.  He probably will not feel like cooking so if he has some microwavable meals with a soft texture he could look after himself after those couple of days at the start.

Hope this helps.

Thank you

Thank you that's helpful advice. Google is so tempting, but also frightening! This forum seems like a well informed group. 

That's good to know. I will try and rally some more support. 

Thanks that's really helpful. So much feels unknown so all this insight means I can plan more.