Unprepared!

Hi Gamergirl. My neck thankfully didn’t really break down but in my experience with others once the RT finishes in the absence of infection the skin heals quickly. If it doesn’t then there are silver based creams that are really good  

Ring his CNS again  he shouldn’t be left to suffer  

Some hospitals give out nebulisers but not many. You’re probably better off getting a cheap one from Amazon. I got enough relief by steaming over hot water with a towel over my head. He could try that till the nebuliser arrives. 
I couldn’t swallow anything for nearly four weeks after treatment ended so it’s a case if keeping going with the pain killers and hunkering down. 
Best wishes and keep us in the loop. 

Hi Gamergirl, well done to your husband completing his treatment. The first 2 weeks are very hard, things will get better with time, my neck was in a terrible state after my treatment, my team gave me Flamazine, which my wife applied for 5 days, the result was amazing, on how quickly it had healed it. It's a good thing he has a PEG, that will take the worry of not eating away, also he can get plenty of water through the PEG. If you have any worries or questions, ask on here someone will always help if they can. Things will get better with time,  it often feels like 1 step forward and 2 back, but he will get there. All the best to you both.

Regards Ray.

Hi. My neck broke down badly from week  6 I had 7 weeks of radiotherapy. I was given polymem bandages and told to leave on until the green gunk had seeped all way through. These next few weeks are the worse it’s the cumulative effect if the treatment still working.i too couldn’t eat but by week 3 had started to improve my neck took around 4 weeks. Now I put factor 50 sun cream on every day whrn I am going out dinner and winter it’s part of my routine now. Thjngs will start to improve we’re here for any help.  I see Dani replied about the propolis. I bought humidifier from Amazon a cool mist one approx £25. I used it from day 1 of treatment. My nebuliser came from my cancer hospital. 
keep on top of medication.As for water I still can’t drink our tap water I live in a hard water area. I filter it during recovery we bought bottled water ti try and drink plus when I could drink herbal tea and coffee I boiled bottled water. The chemicals  in our tap  water we’re too harsh  

hazel 

RadioactiveRaz said:

As for water I still can’t drink our tap water

Just curious. I'm lucky, our water is soft so I have nothing to compare. Does it irritate or just tase horrid?

Hi Dani. It smells of bleach tastes foul and yes it irritates. I have a brita filter and double filter it for boiling but for drinking I still tend to buy bottled water. When we were in Wales in July I had no problem drinking the tap water there , even over here in Spain i can  drink it. I have tried  neighbours and family  who live in different villages the same for me.  At one point we wondered if it was our pipes Pre cancer at home I could tolerate the tap water it wasn’t unpalatable but now even 4 years it is. 
Hazel x

Thank you all that’s really great and reassuring information. I read your blog Hazel and the part your husband wrote about his feelings was so spot on it released a huge wave of emotion for me and I cried more than I have in a very long time. And my goodness it felt good! People keep asking me if I’m ok and I say ‘yes I’m fine’ and then tell them how awful it is for andy. When your husband wrote ‘I’m angry frustrated scared and lonely’ or words to that effect I almost punched the air in agreement. 
It also gave me the strength to ‘take control’ as in telling Andy he had to listen to me when I remind him to take his lactulose or do the mouthwash etc because it hurts me when I see him suffering from not keeping on top of these things and snaps at me for ‘fussing’. 
We actually both felt better for it. I’ve ordered the propolis (it’s on offer at Amazon 2 bottles for £8.95) and I’m picking up a humidifier today.

Thank you everyone 

 Hi you are  very welcome. I too was quite nasty to John at times which isn’t in my nature the sheer frustration if it all gets to the best of us. Johns really pleased his words have helped you m of course he’s not pleased you’ve joined our exclusive club. Just to show life goes on we’re back out in Spain I’ve ridden 100 km on my bike this week happily living our retirement dreams.ok with a few amendments todays baguette was like rock I struggled to eat it and John moaned but that’s life. 
People ask why do we stick around on here as we know our cancers are tone of the well known ones. I like many others hadn’t given any thought to head and neck cancers apart from throat cancers were mostly caused by heavy smoking and drinking. So what a shock for me to be diagnosed. But if my blog has just one viewing I will keep updating it and whike ever people are on her will keep popping on. 
Remeber the propolis may sting a little I use Luke warm water yiuncan either get him to rinse and spit or rinse and swallow whichever is easiest for him. 
Hope this  helps 

Hazel x

Have a read of this article about how you feel after the treatment ends. It's by psychologist Dr Peter Harvey. It echos a lot of what we all feel. I printed out a few copies and sent them to family

AFTER THE TREATMENT FINISHES....THEN WHAT?