In the home stretch: Each day this week  Nick has  had to cope with  a different side effect. On one day he had no voice above a whisper. On another, the nausea bothered him so much that he requested a different prescription.  His throat feels very “tight.” He was not able to consume anything other than Boost on some days. On the positive side, he had enough energy to go for a walk around the block  with me on two evenings.

Nick misunderstood. Rather than getting a weaker dose of radiation daily from now on, he’ll be getting a dose that  is more focused, in particular, on the area of his tongue on which the biopsy found the cancer.

Nick has never complained throughout this “adventure,” but he is getting frustrated with smelling the aroma of food yet being unable to taste it or swallow it. Pudding  made him nauseous today. Tomorrow we will try a Boost shake: Boost and ice cream blended together.

Good news: he was able to tolerate the Boost/ice cream shake, and he has maintained his weight for another week!

Today Nick went to the oncology dentist. He must go every few weeks to make sure nothing is amiss with his teeth. Thankfully, his teeth are fine, and he was given a “toothbrush” that has a spongelike material rather than bristles for people like himself who find a regular toothbrush too painful to use. He has too much throat pain for a shake; I wish they had straws made of something soft  for people who find plastic straws too painful to use.

Nick will have a radiation treatment later today. We are into the single digits: six more  doses  of radiation and one of chemo remain!