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
