Hello All,
I have just finished 2 bouts of 5 day 24 hour chemotherapy of cisplatin and 5FU after luckily missing out on the radical neck dissection. The aftermath of the chemo is very strange and messes with your head leaving me with depression and total non-interest in anything be it television or reading and normally I am an avid reader, I feel sorry for my wife who has to put up with a stranger in the house who radiates nothing from his eyes apart from a blank hostility. Taste-buds gone as well apart from the odd sweet thing - chocolate is ok and surprisingly I can taste beer which is good but I do not feel like going out and trying to pretend to enjoy myself. The last bout of chemo ended on the 20th March so now things beginning to feel better slowly, spots all over my face are receding and my skin on hands, arms and legs is slowly beginning to regenerate after flaking off all the time. I start 6 and a half weeks of radiotherapy next Wednesday with a one day bout of chemo each week and the last appointment is the 20th May which I am looking forward to greatly as I am beginning to hate hospitals with a passion...Reading other peoples postings I seem to be doing reasonably well however I was unprepared for how important taste is to one...

hi John, yes we all get down, as dealing with treatments is a difficult time; when I look back at this time last year I was coming to the end of Rad treatment, and looked as though I had been burnt with a hot iron, mouth all droopy, speech difficult, deaf in right ear and noises like tuning in a pre war radio; well things do get better, and then you ask yourself, how did I get through all of that; we humans do have an inner strength and we do get through some tough times, Big Bear Hugs

Dear John. My husband has naso-pharyngeal cnacer and has had the same treatment as yourself. He has gone through exactaly the same side effects as you. He gets very depressed and angry at times, no-one can do or say anything to him. His face is also covered in spots, I thought it was the steroids doing that. he has lost his sense of taste and has a dry mouth so doesn't enjoy his food anymore which has caused the most distress I think. How are you now? and have you learnt if your treatment is working yet?
Good luck. Michelle.