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    My recovery from the radiotherapy continued slowly over the next weeks monitored, as always, by the medical team at Mount Vernon. As the inflammation lessened, so did the amount of sticky mucous generated from the damaged membranes. With the decrease in mucous, I became more aware of the lack of saliva, and had to carry a bottle of water to sip occasionally.

 My poor tongue was still very painful which made simple tasks such as chewing or, worse still, teeth cleaning, awful. Oral hygiene was, and is, very important so I always used a mouthwash even when I couldn't swallow. Finding a suitable mouthwash which didn't sting proved very difficult.  I started to wean myself off the liquid food with fruit juice, milky cereals, and tinned fish in creamy sauce. Some of the combinations were bizarre but since I couldn't taste anything, it didn't matter as long as there was some food value. Citrus fruits and tomatoes were too acidic, but pears, bananas, mangoes and apples were fine. The dietician in the cancer team was a great help, tracking my weight and diet very closely.

At this stage I was still taking the maximum permitted paracetamol/codeine combination with Voltarol  for pain control. It was my choice not to continue with morphine for a longer period even though it would have provided more effective pain relief. The reason was psychological, not physical, and I just felt more positive not using it.