Post Treatment

Hello Brian, I'm sorry you're feeling so low. Our treatment is brutal so it takes a while to recover. I was certainly still pretty low after 5 weeks. Now after nearly 6 months I'm almost back to normal, hardly any fatigue, just slight swallowing & dry mouth issues. I hope that helps. Hang in there!

Thanks. Truly appreciate the thoughtful response. Trying to be patient, get through this. 

Hi Brian

Congratulations on completing your treatment.

You are right on track with your recovery and everything you are experiencing is what is to be expected at this stage. Things do definitely improve but it takes a while. You will slowly get better day by day but it definitely takes time so you have to be patient. I know that is easier said than done. Try and take a little bit of exercise, a short walk even though you will still be fatigued. This certainly helps but don’t expect that you will be running a marathon or even walking anywhere near as far as you are normally able to do at this stage in your recovery. At this stage the walk to the letter box was a bit of an ordeal for me but now I am able to walk as far as I did before treatment.

Best wishes.

Lyn

BakedBrian said:

Please let me know your thoughts. I know the timeline is different for everybody. 

Hi Brian.

Agree with Cat and Lyn

Five weeks is really early still. What chemoRT does to the whole body, let alone your mouth and throat is absolutely awful. You've had a real battering and it does take time. Yes we are all different but there seems a commonality. A fairly uneventful recovery had me feeling as if there may be a way out at 6 weeks and turning a real corner at 12. By six months a lot of my taste was back but not in HD. By a year I was much more my old self with improvements continuing to this day. It's a slow slow process.

Have a read of Dr Peter Harvey's essay on what happens to us after cancer. It resonates with a lot of us and I still refer back to it now and then. At the beginning of my recovery I printed out a few copies and dispensed them to my nearest and dearest too.

I got hugely fed up of the "You look really well" from them all....as if I was expected to be up and running a few weeks out of Hell.

After the treatment finishes....Then what?

BakedBrian said:

energy level low, dry mouth significant.

The more you get out...even for a short stroll round the block the better you will feel. I managed to drag myself out with the dog through treatment. My CNS drummed into me to get moving and I can say it did help. 

Have a look at my posts on Acupuncture. I never thought it would help but was willing to give anything a try and miraculously it kick started my saliva Acupuncture and Update on progress

I know your mouth is still sore but as it gets a little better chewing gum stimulates what salivary function is left. Mint might be too vicious but you can find all sorts of fruit flavoured sugar free gum on Amazon

Keep going 

Hi has others have said in the scheme of things 5 weeks is still early you  may not think so. 12 weeks can be a turning point. Just hunker down get as many calories in as you can iwas told 85  G protein and 2500 calories each and every day plus 2-3 litres of water. It really helped my recover. Forget any pleasure from foid   Food is fuel was my mantra. 
keep in touch Hazel xx

Hi Brian, 

Firstly, congratulations on getting through your treatment. Yes, even though it has been completed the effects do drag on, but it does improve. I completed CT/RT at the end of August 2021 and  I kept a journal throughout my treatment and recovery and looking back it was a month before I could eat anything solid and went out for my first short walk. Even then, food tasted dreadful and I did feel completely exhausted. I was told that I would probably look forward to enjoying my Christmas dinner and this proved to be a realistic target. Now, 20 months on, I have regained much of my taste and put on half of the 12 kg that I lost. Energy levels are good and although there are still certain legacies such as a dry mouth and itchy skin you just learn to live with them. 

Just stay with it and hopefully you will soon see some improvement shortly. 

All the best 

- John 

And don’t forget, Brian that RT causes something called radiation fatigue which can be intense and sometimes appear like a whirlwind out of nowhere. It does get better 

Thanks Lyn!  

Thanks Dani!