Squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil and lymph nodes (throat cancer) stage 2 p16+ (HPV related)
Prologue
When you first hear the words, it is definitely a gut-punch. Cancer… your mind races. Disbelief, bargaining… all of the stages of grief in a very short window. You cry, you go down the rabbit-hole on the internet… what is this, how bad is it, what is the treatment… you get a general idea of the outcome and then steel yourself for what is to come.
I am 62 years old, in great health… other than the whole cancer thing… I weigh 165. I have a girlfriend/ex-wife, but its not as complicated as that sounds, 2 daughters, 2 step-kids and 2 grand-daughters. Life was going well, other than a few bumps in the road.
I talked to several people who have been through this and the results range from a medium range pain in the ass to fairly horrific and everything in between. But you can only talk for so long. You try to get the gist of the journey, and if I’m honest, you don’t know enough at this point to get too much into the details so that’s what I’m hoping to capture here. Going through this in the future I’ll drop in a week by week progress. I considered doing video, but I’m a little old for TikTok. And by that, I mean to be putting videos on it not to be watching it… I still do that. The bigger picture is that this will be somewhere between nine and 16 week journey, but it is very treatable and very survival. You just have to get through it and every single person that I spoke with reiterated that. I would be starting my journey with MD Anderson in Houston. They are supposed to be one of the best when it comes to cancer treatment. So, I’m cautiously optimistic of a smooth journey.
This is now the most prevalent type of cancer among our generation. It is HPV related so get your kids vaccinated. It can literally be dormant in your body for decades. It causes 60-70% of the oral cancer in the US. Roughly 10% of all men and 3.6% of all women have oral HPV.
The mask that they create so that your head is in the exact same spot every time. The clips on the sides let them “bolt” your head and face down to the table into the head cradle. There is also a mouth-piece that was created by the devil himself, just to keep things fun.
Day 1 May 12, 2025
I woke up feeling the best I had in about a month. No pain in my jaw, no swollen lymph nodes. No dripping down my throat. It was very odd.
Started the day with some reports that I go through every morning at work, some meetings and then off to the hospital.
First was the blood draw. They took 11 vials of blood. My medical training is limited, but I’m fairly certain there are only 12 in the human body. It was a lot. I mean alot-alot.
Next was a meeting with the oncologist and we went through the normal stuff with weight 165, blood pressure high, heart rate high and temperature normal. My heart rate was elevated. Imagine that. The doctor then verified that it was stage two squamous cell carcinoma p16 + of the tonsil and now in both lymph nodes. HPV related, which is an important indicator. The surgeon said that I was not a good candidate for surgery because it had gone from my tonsil into the roof of my mouth and would leave an abnormal cavity that would cause difficulty down the road. All of the doctors concurred that two of the three treatments are enough to wipe this out. And that is surgery, chemo and radiation. He did say that there is no real difference in treatment between stage one and four, however how your body may react could be quite different depending on what stage it is. He said I don’t expect anything but minor nausea for the first few weeks but if anything unusual comes up, go directly to the ER. So he basically said it should be fine until it isn’t.
We went down to have lunch in the hospital cafeteria an hour before the first dose of radiation. Here will be my first tip… don’t do that so close. When I went to put the mouthpiece in, I kept gagging and my body was rejecting it. It took me about five minutes to sit up and relax enough to be able to get it in and then lay back down. Then the mask goes on and they bolt me down and they talk me through the process. The actual radiation is only three minutes, but the entire process takes about 15 and you’re in the mask and the mouthpiece for the duration. They do play music in the background and you don’t feel a thing other than the mask and the mouthpiece.
We then drove over to the chemo place where I set up my laptop on a veranda to take a work meeting before the appointment. After the meeting, we went up to the chemo place and they showed me into my own room and stuck in the IV and said basically relax. It will be a little while. And a little while in medical terms is about five hours. There would be five bags of fluid, the first two nausea medicine, third is steroids. The fourth is actually the chemo and then the last one is hydration. All-in about a gallon of fluid. Which starts the timer on how long it will take you to get rid of a gallon of fluid. Pretty much on the hour I was up peeing.
The first two went in with no incident but on the third the nurse said you may feel some stinging in your private area and I actually said out loud, “oh that’s not good”. I waited five minutes, felt nothing so my thought was well, maybe I got out of that one. Until minute six rolled around when someone’s snuck in and stuck a lighted sparkler up my rear end. That was not the private area that I was expecting and if I’m honest amongst us, I did not care for it at all. After five minutes or so the fire department showed up and put the fire out. One star review, definitely do not recommend. The rest was relatively smooth.
We got out of there around 9:30 and I told Stacey I had the weirdest craving for Taco Bell. I know chemo and food generally are opposed and I have not had Taco Bell in several years but the nutritionist also said to get down any calories that you can in this time so I put down four Taco Bell tacos in around six minutes and I will tell you it was glorious.
We got home and played with the dog for a few minutes. Thank you so much Rene for picking him up for me.
Then started day one of the mouth care with baking soda, rinses, and fluoride treatments. It was definitely a day.
Day 2
I woke up with what I would describe a very mild nausea and I’m unsure whether it was the chemo or the aforementioned Taco Bell last night. It persisted so i took a dose of the O pill to calm it down. Oddly, I woke up at 4 am unable to get back to sleep.
Next up today, chemo doc wanted a hearing test done to check for hearing loss during the chemo process. Stacey would say that my hearing is awful, but it turned out ok, except the loss of some high pitches.
Then back to the radiation room for the mouthpiece/face-mask torture. New thing I learned today, Monday requires a CT scan and x-rays so it takes about seven minutes longer than the treatments from Tuesday through Friday. While the people are nice, the process is not.
Home after the radiation and around 5 started feeling nauseous again so took another O pill. No use in meaningless suffering. Note here, on the orientation call they recommend also start taking Senna S, a natural laxative. The nausea medication will stop you up similar to opiods. Had to take a 45 minute nap because up at 4 am.
Same mouth care at the end of the day with the baking soda rinse and flouride trays.
Day 3
Same 4 am wake-up. I dont care for that.
Dropped my dog off at doggy day care, then in to work. A bit of a sore throat and nausea, but like a 1 out of 10, not a big deal.
Radiation doc appt and he showed me the radiation path. Also got some new throat meds for later on down the line. He said the dose is typical for this type of cancer and location. Big hit in one spot, secondary hit to where it will likely want to spread to and then third hit on lymph nodes. On the upside, I did put on 2 pounds eating lots of pasta and generally food that I wouldn’t normally eat. Or the general constipation, it might be a toss-up. I guess this is the pregame part of the journey.
Back home to work some more and then had to take a nap… woke up with a pain in my throat. I took some tylenol and it calmed down.
More mouth care with the baking soda and flouride trays.
Day 4
I think the nausea pills are winning out over the stool softener pills. There seems to be a battle going on and I’m getting backed up so I took an extra softener. (No, I dont want to sugar-coat it) Hopefully things don’t go sideways while I’m at work. I did find out after having two glasses of wine last night that I have zero tolerance for alcohol right now. I felt awful all day.
One more round in the radiation mask and getting the mouthpiece in while you’re nauseous is a bit difficult.
Got home and worked some more and then took a nap on the couch for about an hour and a half. I’ve never napped this long in my life. Minor pain in my jaw so I took some Tylenol. I’m trying to stay away from the opioids as long as I can.
I did the baking soda mouthwash, and fluoride treatments. Woke up with a mild headache and took some more Tylenol.
Day 5
I woke up with a mild pain in my jaw. At least I’m not nauseous this morning. Working from home today. My saliva is starting to get a little thicker, not bad but noticeable. I’ll be honest I was not expecting any symptoms until week two or three. It’s very manageable still a one or two but just a surprise.
Had to take another nausea pill before radiation. Last radiation this week.
Pro tip from first week – popsicles are your very best friend.
Having weird cravings like I’m pregnant and I’m fairly certain and that’s not the case. I was craving tuna casserole, but we got chicken enchiladas and I can tell that my taste is fading.
Mouth care stuff again and then off to bed.
1 week done, now weekend off and back into the fire.
Day 6
A day off. Its Saturday, radiation is Monday-Friday so a little reprieve. I woke with a touch more energy than yesterday. I’m guessing this is just a head fake still, have a light pain in my jaw.
Nothing much today, other than lunch out. The radiation is wearing me out more than I anticipated. I guess this is the new normal now.
Up roughly every two hours last night. Dropped my dog off at doggy daycare and then headed into work. Worked until one then over to radiation and back to work. Done around four and headed home to pick up Koda. Fell asleep on the couch for an hour and a half. He woke me up for dinner. Running low on humor at the moment.
Mouth hurt most of the day couldn’t quite eat much lunch before radiation. Tried to eat a snack bar and it just hurt. For dinner Stacey had made a stew so I ground it up in the blender to make it easier to eat. Pro Tip
Mouth stuff again at night.
Day 2
Still up every 2 hours. Mouth pain at a 5 and throat at 4. I can feel the low burn in my throat. The pain meds dont seem to be cutting it right now.
I can tell that I’m losing muscle mass even though my weight is relatively stable at this point. And I’ve got a tan line with dark spots that runs from roughly my eyes down to my collarbone and from upper neck to shoulder blades in the back. A bit of a last of the Mohicans look. So there’s that.
At the chemo doctor and my weight is now 161 down 4 pounds. Getting ripped, I have to start taking the calorie shakes now. And now that I don’t have any facial hair, the nurse said I looked way younger. Not gooder, just younger…
The doctor said that everything I’m feeling and the weight loss is pretty much expected at this point. And now is the time to get as many calories as I can so protein shakes, etc..
I am aware that my girls and I have a strange relationship… I just texted Taylor,Yay, It’s flaming butthole day. And of course, she replied with. I hope it’s a sparkling good time.
And again, just streaming thoughts here… Like racing in the rain, cancer is the great equalizer.. Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight… doesn’t matter. We’re all the same laying on the table with your face bolted to it.
Checked into chemo at the usual place and they tell me I’m scheduled at the main building today… oh, ok, where is that? Skybridge takes you right there. So 1/4 mile walk later and I’m at the right place. This side is not quite as nice as the other side. Not sure who I pissed off. 162 at this place so maybe didnt lose as much as we thought.
Ohhhh, flaming butthole again… me no gusta… me no gusta alot…
They serve turkey sandwiches and chips for dinner in chemo. My mouth is like hamburger and I can’t eat it so I guess I’ll figure that out when I get home.
4 hours and i’m out at 8.
Thanks Rene again for picking up and taking care of Koda. I do appreciate it more than you know.
Also, for everyone that has reached out, I really am humbled with the gestures.
When I got home I tried to eat the ground up stew from last night and just couldn’t get it down so I slammed a 350 calorie ensure drink.
Mouth care and bed early. Exhausted
Day 3
I woke up this morning feeling oddly not too bad. Had one of my normal fruit with Greek yogurt, blueberries, bananas, protein powder smoothies with ensure. Have to try to keep weight on.
Chemo doc, weight 161, that’s actually the weight I started at before starting down this adventure path and doing a 3-week power gorge.
Radiation at 130… the machine broke at roughly 1/3 of the way through. We had to move to another one and restart everything. I did not care for that. Back to work. If an assassin is ever trying to get a bead on me, I am 1000% predictable right now.
Picked up the boy and then home, nap, and dinner of the chopped-up stew.
I am aware that this post doesn’t have as much funny as the last ones, some of that could be just the place I am now in the process or I used up all my funny too fast coming out of the gate. Probably the latter.
Either way, know that I have lived a pretty charmed life. Things always somehow seem to work out for the best for me and I’m certain that this will be no different, whatever that is. So let’s not consider this a negative post. Just a Terry ran out of funny post. My bad…
Back to work and picked up my dog on the way home… same routine, nap on the couch, feed the dog and myself and then in bed early.
Day 4
Slept ok I guess, still tired. Same breakfast smoothie with an ensure drink. Then off to work.
Radiation at 1245. Then back to work.
I do have this constant burn in my throat and am having a hard time swallowing.
Soup in the blender for dinner and an ensure drink just to make sure there is more calories.
Regular nightly stuff then off to bed.
Day 5
I was up pretty much every hour last night between my mouth and peeing. Very thick saliva right now. Its gross.
Smoothie for breakfast.
Had a hearing test and I’ve lost some at the top probably from chemo. Then radiation. Really tired today. Went to get a hulk smoothie again for lunch and took a call for 45 minutes on how we bid wind, solar and battery assets into the market from my truck in the parking lot. Got home and made myself one with the couch.
End of week 4, 4 chemo and 20 radiation treatments in. As a reminder we are scheduled for 7 chemo and 33 radiation treatments.
Around 6 my mouth started hurting. Pain was a 6ish and constant. Stacey ran to cvs to pick up a hydrocodone prescription. That brought it back to a 2ish.
Mouth care stuff and off to bed.
Saturday and Sunday mostly bolted to the couch, trying to put out the fire in my throat and mouth. Another Pro Tip... peanut butter and jelly sandwiches… even when you cant eat other solid food, this still seems to go down.
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Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.
Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.
Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.
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THE NEW NORMAL 