Cancer Sucks!!

My name is Ed. I was diagnosed with stage 4 laryngeal cancer early this year. My doctors decided to treat it very aggressively with both chemo and radiation every weekday for 7 weeks. During the treatment there was a lot of concern because the tumor did not shrink until about the fifth week.

The treatment was absolute hell. Because the radiation needed to specifically target my larynx, my doctors made what resembled a medieval torture device—a molded plastic face mask that covered my entire face, neck and shoulders, which they bolted me to the table with for 15-20 minutes for each treatment. I had multiple panic attacks, understandably, so they prescribed me large doses of Valium to help me tolerate the treatments.

The side effects were, and continue to be, horrific. The radiation basically destroyed my salivary glands, which means it’s very difficult to swallow. Lots of gravy and butter helps, but there are many foods I can’t eat now. Since the beginning of all of this, I have lost about 50 lbs. I also have issues with my balance and tire easily. I have constant tinnitus (ringing in my ears) and have lost about 30% of my hearing.

At the end of the treatment we had to wait three months to get a PET scan to see if the treatments had worked worked. An agonizing three months.

My wife drove me a hour each way to the cancer center every day to get my treatments for seven weeks and supported me throughout all of this. My family and my wife's family have helped to support us financially as we have gone through this.

We just had the PET scan done after seven weeks of chemo and radiation treatment and it came back clear! Now I have an appointment with my general surgeon to get my feeding tube removed which I have had to tolerate for five plus months of flushing and cleaning daily. After that I can start to try to get myself back in shape, both to return to life as normal and hopefully to work.

During all of this we have drained all of our resources and much of our family's. I feel that I am on the home stretch, now I just need to get back into shape to return to work. It's going to be hard but I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting back to a normal life.

I know that I am the luckiest man to be in this position after what I was diagnosed with and am very appreciative and grateful for this outcome and opportunity. Now I just need time to build my strength to return to work and need some help to get there.

Thank you for any donation you can make to help me get back on my feet and back to work! And thank you for sharing this link!