My husbands cancer

Hi Jazzie

Welcome and I'm glad you've found us. Only those of us and their carers who have gone through this truly understand how dreadful the treatment can be. I am nearly at my five years after 6 weeks of radiotherapy for the same cancer as your husband's

I was lucky in that by ten weeks, though still on morphine,I was eating a little.

We are all different and recovery is steps back as well as forward but we do all get there.

You say he is losing weight still. Does he have a stomach tube and how much of the Fortisips/Ensures is he having? He needs 3000 Calories a day which is 8 bottles. Is he seeing a dietician as part of his review? Mine were on my case constantly about losing weight. I did lose a little but not much.How much pain relief is he on? When is his next oncologist appointment? Sorry I have so many questions

Stay with us. Ask anything you want. There are many of us here to help

Hi Jazzie, welcome to the group from me. He is still early days post treatment, and things do seem to take a while to start getting better, but it will get better with time, and plenty of rest. Dani is right he has to have plenty of calories every day. If he has a review coming up shortly, tell his team then, if not give them a call. If he doesn't already have a feeding tube, they may put in a NG tube, which will enable him to put the drinks through, or have overnight feeds. Any questions just ask, we are all here to help each other.

Ray. 

Hi I’m Hazel aka radioactiveraz im almost 5.5 years post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with affected lymph nodes

welcome to our small friendly community ask us anythjng we’ve been there done it  

. Agree with everything Dani has said. I got 2500 calories in every day for 15 months without gaining any  weight  . Food has no pleasure for him. It’s a case of food is fuel and eat to live not left to eat. I remember you at the kitchen window, sipping ensures thinking food is  fuel. Hooefulky he’s seeing a dietician? 
He will have lost muscle mass so needs at least in my case 85 gram of protein which  I got from  the ensures gradually adding soft food. 
Read this snd look at this cook book for ideas. 
https://cancercounsellinglondon.org.uk/about/after-the-treatment-finishes-then-what/

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/66263025/cookbook-by-andrew-gaylor-head-and-neck-cancer-survivor-2022

hold on to the fact our cAnvers  respond extremely well to treatment. 

treatments brutal hence recovery can be long 

hazel xx

Am sure both of you will get support on this forum and a brilliant NHS. Keep on with postive thinking  to deal with varying changes which may occur because of treatment. Sorry but I can not sugar coat how much time it may take and there are no rules regarding each case. I had oral cancer diagnosis June 2022 and soon after had radiotherapy treatment. Strategy afterwards was monitor and test the condition for changes, further treatment with drug infusion began in August 2023.

Hi Jazzie

Unfortunately things do tend to worsen after treatment, in some cases, I spent 12 days in hospital stabilising my weight.  My Macmillan nurse was brilliant, kept me on the right track with Oramorph pain relief upping doses as needed, also found that sleep patterns were being disrupted so a short course of sleeping tablets was prescribed by my GP, helped at the time.

PEG feeding certainly helped, could not have survived without it.

Things do improve though it does take time.

Good luck

Peter

Hi jazzie, in my case , same RT etc, I had to spend 16 days in hospital with NG tube to build up my strength . This coincided with the end of my treatment . It took me a good few weeks to have any sort of appetite and I need the en shake drinks to add calories into diet. I’m nearly a year post treatment and food is a fuel not a pleasure although I’m getting gradually better. Take advice from Raz , Dani and the rest of the gurus on this forum. Have as good a Christmas as you can and things do slowly get better