Wednesday morning comes around and off I go to the Oncology Clinic, I think the shear thought of going to a place like this scares the shit out of you. I have taken along with me a very good friend of mine who I work with Angela, who is going to capture all the detail for me, I find I can't talk, listen and write at the same time, obviously a male thing about multi-tasking?
I meet with Prof. Bernard Donde, again someone you meet who instantly calms you and who definitely gives you both barrels as to what to expect over the coming weeks as you go through radiation therapy. This is the treatment being recommended for me, although I believe this is the standard treatment for this type of cancer as the success rates are extremely high without re-occurrence - have some of that good news then!
Here we go, in Angela's note form:
Oncologist
Recommended treatment
- 7 weeks of radiotherapy (Mon- Fri)
- Treatment will comprise mask on face to ensure correct positioning, couple of minutes of radiotherapy and then home
During Treatment - Potential side effects
- Tiredness (probably increasing as the treatment progresses)
- Nausea/ vomiting (likely to be fleeting but if prolonged anti sickness drugs are available)
- Skin reaction (after the 3rd week generally)
o Only use an electric shaver – not a blade
o Mild soap (dove)
o Warm/ cold water (not hot)
o Pat skin dry – do not rub
o Stay out of the sun as skin will burn
o Potential blistering although this is rare
o Skin will go darker after treatment although this should fade around 3 months after treatment has completed
o Loss of hair from face/ sideburns (will return after treatment completed)
- Loss of taste of food (should return around 3 months after completion of treatments)
- Mucusitus leading to very sore mouth/throat/saliva very thick
- Potential issues in swallowing
Advice
- Small meals (little but often)
- Bland foods (ice cream etc nothing acidic i.e. fruit, tomatoes etc)
- If too much weight is lost then a stomach tube will be used to feed but keeping to small easily eaten foods should prevent this
- Invest in a liquidizer so that if swallowing food is difficult it can be liquidized and spoon fed
Long Term effects
- Salivary gland impairment (dry mouth) although only one side of the face will be affected which is good
- Dark skin possible
- Dry mouth can cause dental issues and potentially “jaw death” affecting the jaw bone although this is very rare
- Narrowing of the Pharynx resulting in swallowing difficulties – very rare
- Damage to blood vessels in the mouth which means that dental treatment can be very difficult and any wounds won’t heal well
Prognosis
- Very localized and only on 1 tonsil
- Very high cure rate on this type of cancer with little re-occurrence
- Radiotherapy used not just to kill the cancer on the tonsil but also to treat the surrounding area in case of any cells lurking
He then organises for me to go and see a Prosthodontist - like straight away, obviously not in the UK now, with waiting times and the guy is literally 100 metres away!!
The reason for him sending me to them is that it is vitally important that your mouth and teeth are in good order, otherwise post radiation therapy dental work can be very complicated, so please bear this in mind if you find yourself in this situation
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