Any tips on handling the radiotherapy greatly welcomed. A tip for anybody who has a CT scan or chemotherapy is don't lift anything
(including a handbag/kettle/iron) for at least 24 hours after the chemo/CT scan. I wasn't warned, came home from the hospital and did some ironing after a couple of days. The cannula had been on my right arm. The vein in the arm is now badly inflamed and I am having to put gel strips, which act like an ice pack on it and use Voltarol cream to try and reduce the inflammation.

I find it helps to take a small notebook into hospital and write down every doctor's name and what they tell you, because it's difficult to remember who told you what. I also find that breaking the treatment down into chunks and then marking each part as complete is helpful.

Drinking ginger ale/ginger beer is supposed to be a refreshing drink during or after chemotherapy. I'm getting qute a taste for it!!

- It's interesting hearing what they do in other countries. Luckily, I've only got 2 x 2 day treatments of chemotherapy to go of 4 - 6 hours each and the chemotherapy on these occasions will be cisplatin instead of 5FU. It was the 5FU which causes lines on the veins and I was attached to the chemo for 24 hours a day for 5 days. I will certainly mention about the chest catheters to my consultant.

Good to hear you're doing well and it's lovely to hear from somebody who's had this kind of cancer. Even after spending 10 days in hospital I haven't found anybody with tonsil cancer.

-I did not have any of the tonsil removed because the cancer was stage 4 and they said it would disfigure me. I also didn't have as much chemo as everybody seems to be having these days (I was treated in California in Sept. 2004), but all doctors I talk to now say chemo is the way to go to kill that horrific disease everywhere it might be in your body. I do not envy your nausea as 2 of the 3 treatments I did have were pretty awful.

I kept non-alcohol aloe vera on my neck every day, then down the road they gave me a stronger cream, then finally a burn cream. I was wrapping my neck like a mummy for the last two or three weeks, trying to keep the creams intact and not scare off little children. They even delayed treatment the last 5 days because the burns were so bad.

Worse than those, however, were the burns inside my throat. I hope you have discussed getting a feeding tube, because you likely won't be able to enjoy ginger ale or much else before too long. My doctors could never agree (I had transferred from one facility to another) and, when they did, it was too late due to the internal burns. Even those who said it could get hooked up directly to my stomach, others said an exploratory tube or something still had to go down the throat first. So the cancer didn't kill me, but starvation nearly did!

DEFINITELY take a book every time you're in. I kept an entire journal throughout my ordeal, as well as extensive emails (10 in total) to a support group of friends and family. I am encouraged daily to combine the two into a book, and am slowly cracking away it. With the advent of this site, however, it's probably not such a big deal. All of our experiences, emotions, pains, side effects, curative hints, etc., surely must be a wonderful resource. I hope you continue taking advantage of the site and us!

Raph and his wife started this when I was approaching my 3rd year out and I still find it helpful. Although we have similar stories, they happen at different times in our journey, so I'm always finding good information.

I am now 52 and skinny but well! Just so you know it gets worse before it gets better, you will survive this with flying colors also!