Hi friends –
Today the doctor told me to try and get through my hot sauce collection quickly, because I probably won’t be able to enjoy it after the radiation treatments begin. That gives me a few weeks to get through ~20 bottles. Not going to happen.
A few weeks ago, a persistent “thickness” in the throat and a visibly swollen tonsil led me to see the doctor, who felt suspicious and sent me to a specialist, who surprised me by doing a spontaneous biopsy on a lymph node in my neck and an order for a CT scan. A few days later, I got the call – I have Stage 2 Squamous cell carcinoma of the throat. It was the last thing any of us saw coming, and suddenly things are moving really fast. Yesterday I met with a surgeon who delivered a mix of good news and bad.
The good news is that the marker I have — P-16+ — is the good kind, which responds very well to radiation and chemo, and which will allow me to avoid surgery which would probably have life-altering side effects on speech and swallowing. He gave me a 100% chance of survival (not 80-90%, as the first doctor had reported), which immediately lifted a huge stress load.
The bad news is that I’m about to embark on a really rough treatment path – 7 weeks of daily radiation treatments, which will accumulate over time into pretty harsh discomfort / pain swallowing and eating (“the worst sunburn of your life, but in your throat”). That will be interspersed with chemo treatments that will make the cancer cells more susceptible to radiological bombardment. During the worst part, I’ll probably just live in bed, and may have a feeding tube. So… lots of fun ahead.
All told, it could be a six-month journey, but in the end I’m going to be fine. I may permanently lose some taste sensation, and my hotsauce funtime is probably over for good. But I’ll be able to get back to all the other things I love doing, and will stick around for a while. Treatment will probably start the last week of March, right after this year’s work ski trip, which doc strongly encouraged me to do! (One last hurrah).
The cancer started in a tonsil, as a result of the dormant HPV virus that almost all of us carry flaring up for inexplicable reasons (because cancer is cancer). Nearby lymph nodes then also became cancerous while trying to filter toxins.
I have an amazing support network. Amy is so attentive to every detail, an amazing researcher, and is all-in and on my side. And Energy Solutions has already offered up to six months of medical leave (I can optionally work whenever I feel capable – incredible). I’ve updated the rest of my extended family and everyone is so supportive. I’m so appreciative of all of the early support.
Just wanted to let you know what’s going on.
Love,
Scot
Amy will need lots of support too. Sending beams of light!
A real live blog comment! Haven’t seen one of those in ages. Yes, she definitely will too. It’s going to be a journey. Thanks for the beams!
Holy shit, so sorry to hear. It really sucks. It could be worse, my sister is going through something similar, but her cancer was a lot further advanced so she had to have surgery and had to have her larynx removed :-(. She starts radiation and chemo next week, I’ll be flying up to the US to help take care of her. Everything I’ve read and three friends who have been through this say that the course of radiation and chemo really sucks, but in the end you get through it and life starts getting better again. Or as my sister said “I just want to get this in the rearview mirror.” Sorry you had this happen to you, good luck getting through it and putting it in the review mirror.
Tim
Wow! Dormant HPV virus! Had you taken the HPV vaccine?
Hey man, I know how it feels, been there last year. No chemo or radiation but a large part of my colon was removed. It’s a day by day thing, some days is OK, some are darker. Important to stay busy! I’m sure you’ll be fine with that prognosis! Take care! Just give us a shout if you need advice somehow! Jan
Probably didn’t have the vaccine 45 years ago when I first contracted the virus (fun fact – virtually everyone who has ever had sex has HPV!) . I’m honestly not sure whether I have been vaccinated for it now.
Wow, I’m meeting so many people who have been through various cancers – seems like it’s just everywhere. I may just reach out! Thank you. Very sorry about your colon – that sounds so rough.