The treatment plan

Upfront, let me just say I am wild about the tumor board!!  That was just a great experience from start to finish.  If you have cancer, certainly try to get there.  They treat you really well.  Here's more about the tumor board .

I have stage 2 cancer— it is a large enough tumor that it is past stage 1, but it isn't in my lymph nodes—which is really good news.  Most throat cancer is caught at a later stage for a variety of reasons, so I am lucky this way.

The treatment will be non-surgical.  Instead, it will be a concurrent radiation/chem program of 6-8 weeks.  I will be getting treated daily, Monday-Friday.  It will probably start in 2-3 weeks.  My first step is to get a dental clearance—that my teeth are all sound, no cavities and a cleaning for the protection of the fluoride. I have an appointment Monday.


The radiation is very hard on the teeth, so I will need to be way more vigilant about them in the future to preserve them.  I will lose one salivary gland due to the radiation, which will affect both the protection of my teeth and the amount of saliva.  My ability to taste can be (very) negatively affected. They say that for two-three weeks it won't be difficult, but then it will become increasingly hard.  Basically, they said it will feel like I am internally sunburned in my throat, and I will probably develop internal sores in my throat and mouth. And, I will feel really tired. Obviously, I will not be eating normally. They say one out of four patients end up with a feeding tube directly into the stomach, but they doubt that will be the case for me since my tumor is only on one side of my mouth.

And, yes, the chemo has other potential side effects.  I will save that for another blog as they haven't decided yet what chemo drug I am taking (awaiting some tests about which I could better handle).

So, the treatment will end up sometime in June.  They say I won't be back to robust until around October and that it will take about a year to know what has permanently changed and what was temporary (like in terms of things like taste).

So, sounds pretty bad, doesn't it?  Oh well. I'd rather live.  And, my prognosis is very good, around 90% cure rate at this stage with this protocol.  I am fine and happy now, and that is what I am sticking with until it isn't true.  I know you will all be there to say "poor baby" when I need it!