Update on Results

Hi Mandy that is great news. Unfortunately recovery can't be rushed, things need time to heal, his taste will come back and the other side effects will improve in time. It can often seem like one step forward and two back, don't worry, he will get there. You have had some great news, try to focus on that. All the best to you both.

Regards Ray.

Hi Mandy. I’m almost 5 years post radiotherapy and best advise I got given was food is fuel and eat to live. It’s not easy I was a food lover but it was a case of head  down  I got no pleasure from food  for a good  7 month. I reversed back ti nursery type food if a toddler couldn’t eat I neither could I. As Ray says some days it’s 2 steps bsck one step forward will pop a couple of articles in for you. 
poached eggs on smashed avocado and well buttered cheap bread toasted we’re s salvation for me. Plus my first Jaffa cake dipped in coffee couldn’t drink the coffee but the jaffa cake went down. 
Liquid diet ideas

 
www.yumpu.com/.../cookbook-by-andrew-gaylor-head-and-neck-cancer-survivor-2022

https://www.workingwithcancer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/After-the-treatment-finishes-then-what.pdf

Hazel x

yhr lady article is written by a cancer consultant at my hospital Leeds I made copies for friends snd family. 
well done on getting good results the rest takes time. 

Thanks Ray, think my husband thinks it’s all taking too long for recovery, although he’s been told it takes time, yes it’s great news and such a relief. x

Thanks Hazel, yes I keep telling him it’s food for fuel, I will take a look at the article thank you for that. He has soup and sometimes a bit of toast with lots of butter, he struggles with it forming a ball in his mouth, he’s never hungry or full, he has lost over 2 stone in weight, it’s a battle trying to get him to eat things, just early days, and keep trying different food and see what works. 
Mandy x

HinTry  and get him to remember it’s a marathon not a sprint. Our treatment in cancer terms is pretty brutal. Our mouths and throats are in effect the driving force of living. What do we do with our mouths and throats everythng eat drink talk breath in fact live. My oncologist  said he would cure me he also said he would take a year from my life inheritance was right on both cases. Sadly there’s no quick fix , he will turn a corner, we all do. 
Try to get him to read  the  Dr Peter Harvey article he uses an old fashion word convalescence it not used much any more. We all live our lives at 100 mph. But our type  of treatment isn’t comparable to most others purely as it targets a very sensitive area. 
I had no appetite for a good whike I found 6 smaller plates of food sometimes spread through the day helped. A tiny sip of Luke warm tea or coffe to moisten the mouth whike he eats can help. I used peppermint tea or when I coukd drink it coffee onky a tiny sip otherwise he will be full our tummy also shrink which takes time. I was 15 month before  started to put weight in. I was eatung 2500. Calories a day. Now I’m back to watching ng what I eat. 
hope this  helps Hazel x

Thanks Hazel, yes it all really helps thank you, he can drink tea although no taste he does drink it, yes it’s going to take time to recover and a year out of your life I definitely get that, the oncologist said it’s very treatable but the worse place for radiotherapy. Thanks again for the good advice 

Mandy x

Hi Mandy

I am six months post surgery (similar procedures) and 2.3 months post chemo/rt and my taste is still recovering. The fizzy tongue syndrome is still there too and the wet/dry mouth seems to alternate with the wind! I also have a very stubborn neck lymphedema which also does not help with eating and sleeping but.... here to moan about it and reminding myself just how long these things can take.... if he ever wants a man chat, I/we are here.

Hi GeneS

Thanks for messaging, it’s sounds exactly the same as what you’re going through, the wet/dry mouth. My husband was never interested in what he was told about side effects and he wasn’t interested in reading all the brochures they gave him. He didn’t realise how bad it was going to be. It will take time to recover, wishing you well with your recovery. x