Today was treatment 28! It’s hard to believe I’m almost at the finish line and I have my eye on the bell! Actually I’ve had my eye on the bell since the beginning but now it’s getting very real. I cheered for my buddy Mitch as he rang out yesterday and it felt great!
The pain has continued to intensify especially when I try to eat. It’s a sharp burning sensation as if there were millions of tiny, hot needles piercing my tongue. Yikes!
I was able to eat breakfast using the Magic Mix and Ibuprofen like yesterday but it was more of a challenge to keep the burn down. After treatment I had my check up with Dr. Samuels. He was very happy with my progress told me my mouth and neck were “textbook” meaning the radiation is doing exactly what they expected it to do.
He was pretty shocked to hear I hadn’t lost any weight this week and that I had even managed to eat breakfast without pain killers. He told me most people were on their 3rd bottle of Oxycodone by this point in their treatments. I’m not “most people”!
My tongue and mouth have continued to burn steadily when I got home so I decided to use a Fentanyl patch to tame the overall pain while trying to eat lunch with Magic Mix and Ibuprofen. It was still way too painful to eat my lunch smoothie so I took a 1/2 dose of Oxycodone to eat without totally knocking myself out. Unfortunately, the Oxy seems to make me drowsy but keeps me up at the same time. Not so much fun. I may have to switch to Hydrocodone if this pain continues to be as intense. I need to keep my calorie and proteins coming in so my body can heal.
I can’t wait to see Annabel tomorrow! Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary and I really, really miss her. It’s been difficult to spend so much time apart. She has been so supportive through all of this. I’m very grateful for her love and support. She continues to amaze and inspire me.
We’ll go for treatment on Friday, check in with Dr. Samuels and then… ring out! I can’t wait to see my family and be home to recover from this long and difficult journey.
According to Dr. Samuels the first two weeks will be pretty similar to how I feel now with some minor improvement. He says most people begin to feel significant relief during the third week. Again, I’m not “most people” so I’m hoping my efforts will help speed the healing process. It will be what it will be. At least I’ll be home with my family.
