Month: April 2019

Week 19 – Still progress

Weeks after treatment            4

Pain                    1/10

Mood                 8/10

Energy               5/10

Side effects     3/10

Everything is getting better, the phlegm is gone, the swelling in the back of the neck and gums is reduced considerably. When the phlegm left the building, the dry mouth is replacing it, but it is indefinitely less annoying than the phlegm


The taste buds are primarily out of function but i can taste salt and spices (not any spicy).

I begin to do fitness and work again, my energy is still limited but now i feel that life has began again. I have gained a little weight but most of my clothes is still out of reach due to my reduced size 🙂

Week 18 – Breakthrough!

Weeks after treatment            3

  • Pain                    1/10
  • Mood                 8/10
  • Energy               4/10
  • Side effects     4/10

Finally i feel the things are in progress!, the NG tube came suddenly up by itself just before Easter in the end of the week, i am not going into details how… – but it seems my body felt healthy enough to reject the annoying foreign object in my throat. 

I then had the choice on going back to the hospital in order to get a new NG tube or try to drink the needed 6 daily protein through the natural way.

It worked!, the protein drinks are not enjoyable, but diluted with water they go down the throat without much problems. For the first time in a long time, i sleep well at night, within the next days, the phlegm is reduced considerably, the tube had probably also been a partner in crime in generating the phlegm.

It’s just great that whereas the side effects before had a crippling social effect, they are now just annoying, so it has been a big turning point 🙂

 

Week 17 – Second week after treatment

  • Weeks after treatment            2
  • Pain                    2/10
  • Mood                 4/10
  • Energy               3/10
  • Side effects     8/10

The pain is now on a level where i do not need morphine anymore, the doctors told me three times, that i needed to scale down on the morphine before i should stop using it. I did for reasons unknown to myself not listen and did a full stop…- the result was 4 sleepless nights, so do as the doctors tell you to!

The mood is again taking a dive, the pain in the neck and throat is reduced but the phlegm continues to be bothersome and the tube seems to irritate my throat even more. I am very sick of being sick, my possibilities for doing anything is severely restricted and it is very difficult to not know whether i will be hit with a lot of late effects.

I am in a very self-pity mode, my family went to visit relatives for a few days which was very good as i was not able enjoy their company and they can not do anything to alleviate the side effects.

I watched Deadpool 2 in order to get in a better mood and had a laugh when Deadpool goes into self-pity mode and gets this answer:

Week 16 – First week after treatment

  • Weeks after treatment            1
  • Pain                    6/10
  • Mood                 7/10
  • Energy               4/10
  • Side effects     9/10

The doctors told me that the 2 weeks after treatment could be the worst due to the cumulative effects of the radiation. This is not this case for me , it is not better than last week but not worse, perhaps i am a little more tired. The pain from the burns on the neck is noticeable but not that bad, probably due to the morphine. The phlegm is just as annoying as before.

I can do quite a little, go / ride a ride a day, but when time approaches 19 PM, ,my reverse edition of Dracula very quickly goes back into his coffin 🙂
I am reluctantly looking to see the first small cracks of improvement, hopefully they will arrive in the next week.

Week 15 – Finally last treatment!!

  • Radiation Therapy                     33/33 –              Done
  • Chemotherapy (Paclitaxel)    4/5 –                   Done
  • Pain                    6/10
  • Mood                 7/10
  • Energy               4/10
  • Side effects     9/10

The day i have looked forward to for 2 months finally materialized.

The radiated areas on my neck is quite red/violet, so i will probably get some kind of burn degree. My wife and my kids were all with me for the last accelerator treatment and the personel were so kind to show my youngest one how it all worked, in order to demystify the treatment.

After my last treatment, my beloved wife had arranged a surprise for me! – a lot of friends and family had came to the Hospital in order to celebrate i have finished treatment, they brought cake and champagne, i was thinking about being social and have a drink with them trough the tube 🙂

It was very nice and good to see them all, afterwards i went home and directly fell asleep in a good mood, even though i know that the next 2 weeks could be the worst.