Week 6 - Hello!


Second last week of treatment! Yay! Welcome to Week 6. Only 10 more radiotherapy and one more chemotherapy sessions to go. I feel like the end is in sight a little now, even though the symptoms are starting to ramp up a bit.

The pain in my throat caused by the radiotherapy is really starting to kick in now and I am unable to eat without the aid of my newest medication, Lidocaine. This is in a pink solution that I need to gargle before eating. It totally numbs my mouth and throat so I can swallow food. So now, food is just something to fuel my body. I can't feel it, taste it, or smell it. On top of that, it's Panadol 4 times a day, interspersed with a morphine solution in a syringe to numb the pain.

On the plus side, I met with my dietician this morning who has instructed me to "go for gold" with ice cream, custard, yoghurt, creme caramel, and anything else between meals. It's a pity I can't taste anything! This is to keep my weight up. Last week it fell off a cliff and I'm doing my best to maintain it. If I don't, it's feeding tube up my nose and into my stomach. I've gotten used to the idea of one, but I'll do my best to avoid it, if I can.

Weight has been problematic, and I am *just* managing to hold above 74Kg at the moment but it's a struggle. I've been told to expect to lose between 10 and 15Kg over the journey. Considering I was very stable at 78Kg, that's a concern. It's not normal weight loss though; the weight is lost from muscle mass, not fat ... bummer. My weight started declining on the 12th January and I managed to stop it's slide by the 18th.


Tomorrow, Tuesday, is my weekly catchup with June so we will see what she has to say about progress, weight, treatment etc for the final two weeks.

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