Hi all. I am a newbie. I was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw in Jan 2006 and had surgery in Feb. I start rad on Monday and I am a little nervous. I am so excited to join this group and I hope it will give me insight to this dreaded disease.

mw

Good afternoon MW,
Welcome aboard.I had the jaw problem two years ago,I am still around, eating well, I have a slight problem with speaking but most people can tell what I am saying so I am enjoying life.As you can see it is not all downside.
I hope all goes well for you,Please keep us posted, best wishes.
Keep Smiling
John

Welcome MW. Best advice we can give you is to drink lots of water. Carry water with you everywhere as you will have avery dry mouth and by day 14 a very sore throat/gum ulcers. Also as the discomfort progresses with the days do make sure you tell the docs and ask for pain relief which they usually give readily.

Buy a baby toothbrush now and also some Sensodyne toothpaste as the mouth will feel very edgy and super sensitive as days go by. Nothing much happens all at once at the start although I had the metallic taste from day 1. After about 5 days you will stsrt to notice real problems. But the actual treatment of being bolted to the bed is nothing to be nervous about. Having the mask made and everything measured is far more tedious. The first few sessions will probably take longer than later sessions as they take extra xrays to check alignment is exact. Usually 2 people or 3 people attend and check everything and double check what is going on.

Good luck.

Thanks all for your posts. It really helps to hear from people tht have been through the same thing.

MW