Hi everyone,
My dad is nearly two years post-treatment for tonsil cancer. The cancer was in his left tonsil and had spread to some lymph nodes in his neck, although we later learned that only one lymph node was affected. He underwent surgery, followed by 30 sessions of radiotherapy and 5 rounds of chemotherapy.
Since then, he has recovered well and is almost two years into remission. He’s largely back to his normal day-to-day life. However, he has continued to experience some stiffness and discomfort in his shoulder and neck, particularly around the area where he had surgery. This is partly due to reduced movement after the operation, as he was unable to lift his shoulder for some time because of the staples in his neck.
About three weeks ago, he had a massage at our cancer treatment centre to help relieve this stiffness and ongoing discomfort. Since then, he has been experiencing intermittent headaches. They are not constant and there are no other symptoms, but it feels like a noticeable change, as the headaches only started after the massage. I’m wondering whether this could be related to muscle tension, changes from the massage, or something being “loosened up” in the area.
In addition, recent blood tests showed that his thyroid function is abnormal, likely as a result of the radiotherapy. He has now started taking levothyroxine, and he has mentioned that the headaches seem to have eased slightly since beginning this medication.
He has a follow-up appointment with his consultant in 10 days, and we will of course raise this then. In the meantime, I just wanted to ask if anyone has experienced something similar, or if these headaches could be linked to the massage, muscle tension, or thyroid changes?
Thank you in advance for any advice or shared experiences.
