Day 16, 12/35 days of Radiation

Pain in my throat and mouth has been pretty high the last couple days.  This morning I spoke with my doctor about this and he said it will probably be like this the duration of treatment and may even get worse.  Right now I'm taking liquid Tylenol which is only taking the edge off.  I'm only taking it a couple times a day to avoid the negative affects of taking pain medicine for an extended period.  Likewise I want to hold off on taking something stronger as long as possible.

The pain really isn't too bad as long as I don't talk, cough, yawn, sneeze or try to open my mouth too much.  It's very similar to how my throat felt after my surgeries, but this will be lasting 5+ weeks instead of the 2 weeks of recovery post op.

I've pretty much switched to using my g-tube for nutrition.  Yesterday I was able to get 5 cans down it.  The bolus syringe is really a PITA.  I have to hold it the whole time and if I relax it will pop out of the tube making a mess.  I'm also having to constantly refill it because it only holds 60 ml and a can of formula is about 240 ml.  I have to apply a steady pressure so it goes in, but not too fast or else it might cause me to get sick.  It'll be nice to switch to a gravity bag so I can just fill it once and let it drain.  I'll have to follow-up with my primary doctor tomorrow to make sure the order went through.  If not I'll just order some online and pay for them out-of-pocket.

I saw my dermatologist this morning about the contact dermatitis around my g-tube.  He confirmed does look like classic contact dermatitis.  He gave me a better ointment to put on it.  It looks like it's healing so I'm not that worried about it anymore.

This is a new dermatologist that saw me out of the same office I usually go to.  He was super nice and was very compassionate about what I'm going through.  It's always nice to get a doctor that really seems interested in helping you.

Let's see, what else.  Oh yes!  The ringing in my ears has all but gone away.  It's very faint now and I barely notice it anymore.  That's a relief.  That took almost two weeks to go away.  Hopefully next time it won't last as long.

That's about it.  I keep thinking about all the other people made it through this and it helps give me the confidence that I can make it too.  My radiation nurse did tell me this morning that the treatment for throat cancer is one of the most difficult to endure.  On the bright side it's highly curable.  So, in the end, it should all be worth it.

Surgery: Tonsil and Lymph Node Removal

I went in for surgery Monday.  They started around 1:30 PM and ended around 5:30 PM.  I didn't get to speak with my ENT that performed the surgery afterward but I spoke with a resident doctor.  He said the surgery went as expected. He said they were very aggressive, more so than a normal tonsillectomy, removing all the tonsils on the right side to make sure they get all of the cancer.  Feels like they drove a bus down my throat.  He said they also removed all the lymph nodes in the right side of my neck.  The pathologist on premises didn't find squamous cells in the slice of tumor he took but he's 90%+ sure that they will when they send the tissue to the lab. That will be in about a week.

The off-site pathologist will go through the tonsil tissue and each one my lymph nodes under a microscope to determine the direction of any future treatment. It should take about a week until I get the results.

I was told that there was some risk of nerve damage to the right side of my jaw and right shoulder but those areas weren't effected.  I did notice, while I was putting on my shirt to check out of the surgical center, that my right ear was numb.  So I guess if you're going to have something to go numb the ear would be the best case scenario.  You don't have to move it and you don't use it to feel things.

At around 2:00 AM that night I was up and about walking the halls a bit.  The nurses said walking its good because it prevents blood clots.  So I continued to walk every few hours.

Throat is expectedly sore so I'm on a liquid diet for now. Pain level is low though it's difficult, uncomfortable, for me to speak.  I think because they took out so much tonsil tissue.  I'm able to drink and eat (jello, sherbet) a bit. It's more awkward than painful.  I'll be on this diet for about a week then I'll move to a soft food diet.  Oatmeal, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, etc.

I'm on antibiotics, hydrocodone pain killer and Tylenol.  I can't take the hydrocodone pain killer during the day because it puts me to sleep, so I'm only using it at night which helps me sleep.  It also burns when going down so I'm chasing it with aloe water which feels really good.  I'm taking children's Tylenol because it comes in a suspension and is easier to swallow than pills.  I'm just adjusting the dosage for an adult.  It also doesn't put me to sleep and doesn't thin my blood so if I do start bleeding in my throat it will hopefully stop faster.  And the Antibiotics are obviously to prevent any infection from creeping in.

I'm home now and trying to adjust to the medication schedule, sleeping and taking it easy.  I'm not supposed to lift more than ten pound to prevent sutures in my neck from popping open so I'm constantly having to remind myself not to do or lift things that I usually do everyday without thinking.