Dr. McGowan plus

We saw Dr. McGowan, and she thought Curt was healing well (and maybe faster than "normal"). Curt thinks his tongue is slightly better, but it could take 6 weeks. His saliva glands are gradually returning and might be the last to fully recover. She (and the dietician) want him to gradually eat more things. He is still mostly on a liquid diet with lots of supplemental drinks. His weight (159.5 lbs) is about the same. His skin is healing well, but Curt still puts on Aloe Vera quite liberally. We will see Dr. McGowan again in 3 months.
Dr. Wax's office called yesterday to schedule a quicker appointment (we had another appointment scheduled for Feb. 11). We will see him on Monday (Feb. 4) at OHSU at 3 PM. Curt's left eye is bothering him more and more. It does not close completely. We are putting in lots of drops and he started taping it shut at night. Dr. Gross's office indicated a doctor might put in another gold weight in the eyelid.
Curt is going to see a physical therapist next Friday for his left arm. It hurts when he raises it above his head. Dr. Gross thinks he needs to build up some muscles in his neck and arm area.
We are seeing Dr. Gross again on March 3. Curt also scheduled an annual checkup with his primary Corvallis doctor in March too.
We are looking forward to a vacation in Arizona from February 20-29!
Joan and Curt

LAST TREATMENT!

Curt had his last radiation treatment today ("only" 33 instead of 35)! They gave him his mask. He only weighed 158 1/2 lbs. and needs to watch his diet for a couple more weeks. It will take a while for his mouth to heal. They were surprised that he was able to play tennis the entire time. He saw McGowan today and will see her again in 2 weeks (February 1). She is going to find a physical therapist for his left shoulder and have them call us.
Joan and Curt

Dr. Gross

Today we went to OHSU to see Dr. Gross (ENT). He said Curt looked good (and "well done" on the left side of his face). He looked in Curt's mouth and saw the sores on his tongue and how "raw" his mouth looked. It is getting very difficult for Curt to eat now. Chewing hurts and is a real chore. He is drinking supplements (like Ensure and Boost) to help maintain his weight (he weighed about 159 lbs.) It will take a few weeks after the radiation for his mouth to heal. His bite will always be off since part of the jaw is missing. It will take quite a while before the "scarring" is done and he can see how the bite will actually be. Curt mentioned that his left shoulder has been bothering him and hurts when he raises that arm when shooting baskets or lifting something. This could be caused by the operation and the removal of so many lymph nodes. We are supposed to find a physical therapist who specializes in neck surgeries in Corvallis and Dr. Gross will write a presciption for Curt to see that person. Curt will work with the therapist to try to strengthen those shoulder muscles. Dr. Gross noticed his left lower eye lid was "drooping" so that the eye does not close well. The eye has been bothering Curt - at times it waters a lot (a sign of dryness). We put a drop in it twice a day to try to help. Dr. Gross wanted Dr. Wax (reconstruction) to look at it, but he was not around. They might have to do another "tuck" to raise the lower lid. So Curt is going to see both Dr. Gross and Dr. Wax in 6 weeks (March 3). In about 3 months they will probably do another PET scan of his body. They need to wait for him to "cool off" (I guess the radiation keeps working for a while after the treatments) before doing this. Anyway Curt is counting down until his last treatment this Friday!
Curt has lost some energy from the radiation but has continued to play tennis - more doubles now than singles. He usually takes a nap in the afternoon. The past weekend he noticed the most loss of energy. The radiation probably was most responsible for this, but some may be attributed to his mainly non-chew diet - soft foods and liquid supplements. Today was a long day - radiation at 8:20 AM and then he drove to Portland. Angie fixed lunch for us and we got to see Maddie and Vega. On the way home we did some shopping and didn't get home until after 6:30. No nap today. We got to see the sun today too!

Joan and Curt

Radiation

Curt has had 12 treatments and has 23 to go. His biggest complaint, so far, is the sore on his tongue. He says it feels like he bit his tongue. A doctor prescribed some medicine to apply directly to the tongue. They also gave him something to put between his tongue and teeth during the treatment. They think radiation is hitting his dental work and affecting the tongue. His eye is about the same or maybe better. He probably will always have to use some eye drops. He has also lost some of his appetite. Chewing is more difficult. Right now he is on a soft/liquid diet because of the tongue. He lost about 3 lbs. this past week. They want him to drink Ensure and Boost and eat more often. Today he complained about soreness on the back left side of his head that has been building up. Because it was a bump, the radiation doctor sent him to the ENT doctor for a possible biopsy. The ENT doctor said it looked and felt like a knotted up muscle. There are no lymph nodes in that area. He thinks a muscle was cut on that side during reconstructive surgery in order to stick in his stomach muscle for filler. The cut muscle has now shrunk back into a ball back there. It bothers him when they put on the mask. He has seen a lot of doctors this past week. The ENT doctor told him he has a rough 3 weeks coming up. He is still playing tennis though.

The Pictures

Pictures of Treatment

I was able to go observe Curt's treatment today. I am going to attach some pictures. Next week he will be able to change to 8:40 in the morning. They said that can be changed for a day if necessary. We made an appointment with Dr. Gross at 1:30 PM at OHSU on January 15. Curt will see the doctor here tomorrow and once a week from now on.

The eye drops seem to be working better. We only put them in twice a day and he hasn't had to use the No More Tears during the day.

Joan

First Treatment

Curt had his first treatment today. The actual treatment took about 15 minutes. They move the machine to "zap" him from 9 different positions and not all the "zaps" were of equal length. (The mask keeps his head in the same position.) They also took some pictures with the mask on. I can still see the mesh impression on his forehead several hours later. He said it is a little uncomfortable because the mask fits so tightly. He also met with a nurse and dietician who told him to use a cream on his face and a mild soap. His mouth might get sore and dry later, and he might have trouble swallowing. He should avoid food with citrus and keep eating softer foods with little roughage (no potatoe chips, popcorn, etc.). He will see the doctor here once a week (right now on Wednesdays).

Right now he is finishing up his second scrapbook with all the old newspaper articles about his sports, report cards, etc. I had a scrapbook on him from his senior year in high school and up through college but didn't do as well after that. He had "inherited" items from his earlier years and some duplicates of mine from his parents and wanted to reorganize all this information. It has kept him busy for awhile.

Joan and Curt