I've lost track of when my radiation ends. I know they snuck an extra couple of days in on me due to the time off I had in the middle. There's either one day or two days left. I've already finished the chemo treatments, so it's time to let the healing begin.
One doctor said my throat can start healing in a week or two and the healing can be surprisingly rapid. Another doctor says I should expect four to six weeks before I can eat again.
The tracheotomy tube gets changed for a more comfortable one in a week or two. That's the time frame I was expecting for having the opening sewn up, but they want to leave the tracheotomy there until all the swelling in my throat is gone.
I'm going to be totally dependent on the feeding tube for at least a couple of weeks and I expect it will be 3 or 4 weeks before I will be able to eat anything substantial by swallowing it. I've got 8 or 10 pounds I need to gain and it's really hard to do that on a feeding tube.
A Chinese buffet or a Tex-Mex meal seems like such a treat. Unfortunately, it will be months before I will be able to taste things completely. That makes it hard to enjoy eating.
It's been 5 months since I was diagnosed. In those 5 months there have been about 4 doctors taking turns at seeing how bad they can make me feel and how close they can come to killing me. I've mostly had great quality and highly skilled doctors who are very good at what they do. Unfortunately, pain and discomfort are a big part of what they do. They're VERY GOOD at it.
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It's pretty damned annoying that in the 21st century we don't have better methods. I realize the issue is one of reaching and distinguishing the right (wrong) cells, but still. . .
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