dennismcgn's Cancer Blog
June 4, 2010
just met with my ENT surgerical specialist-chemo doctor-radiation doctor today…..happy to say my 2nd petscan results show “no cancer activity”....will continue follow-up petscans every 4 months for a period of time…then they will be stretched out in time
for those of you beginning this journey of tonsil cancer you may find support and comfort in reading the blogs of the many of us that are further down the path…and returning to normal life….
wow, to think back…
- jan ‘09 first diagnosis
- the multiple appts/test/mask/feeding tube
- mar’09 my “normal” life was beginning to be placed on hold
- two surgeries in mar ‘09 {tonsil & neck dissection}
- homecare nursing visits….lots of healing
- may ‘09 began 30 radiations
- may ‘09 began 6 weeks of chemo
- jul “09 completed chemo/radiation
- removal of feeding tube sept ‘09
and then just time to heal….
looking back it probable took until dec’09 until i started to feel pretty much back to normal
what a road…i am forever thankful
- to all the good people on this blog for the support, encouragement and education during my journey
- to the wonderful doctors/nurses who guided me down a path in which i never had planned or knew about
- to my family and many friends
- to jill who created this blog
- and to those who i met along this journey that have lost their life to cancer….i will never forget their wonderful souls
god bless
dennismcgn
2nd PetScan since completing treatments, 
5 comments)
That is wonderful news Dennis! Yes a long and hard journey but great results! I’ve had one CT scan and a PET scan and have another CT scan scheduled for June 8th. Eating much better with the help of H2O of course!
Take care of yourself and keep the faith!
Hugs,
Trice :-)
Posted on Dennis,
Wonderful news and great to hear from you. I say “ditto” one hundred percent to all those who have helped us along the way.
Hugs
Anna
Posted on Dennis—
It’s so very good to hear from you! Congratulations on the great PET scan results. May all of your future follow-ups yield such great news! I remember when you joined us here and my heart went out to you. I know it wasn’t easy, but you weathered the storm, and I’m so glad you are doing well! I also want to tell you how much I appreciate all the support you have given me. It means a great deal to me.
May you continue to enjoy all that is good in life, including good health. You are a very special person and I wish you all the best!
Hugs—
Martha
Posted on Dennis,
Thanks for your posts. As I was in the thick of things I relied, in part,on some of your posts as a sort of road map for my journey. They really helped. I hope you feel the way I do now—It just keeps gettin’ better each and every day doesn’t it?
All the best to you Dennis!
Greg
Posted on Fantastic News! oh yeah. I love these great reports. Keep em coming. Have a wonderful weekend.
Posted on January 28, 2010
just wanted to share some good news…
the end of December, i had my first petscan since completing radiation and chemotherapy in July’09….
today i saw my main doctor {ENT surgeon}....he shared my scans showed….no cancer activity !
will be continuing to have petscans every 4 months…and guessing the timeframe for follow-up scans will lengthen in time
my life has returned to normalcy…
- within 10 months from initial surgeries
- within 7 months of completing chemo/radiation
i hope this might be encouraging information for anyone in the early steps of this tonsil cancer journey…perhaps dealing with overwhelming fear and uncertainity….
god bless to you all…
*now i get to face a “different kind of reality”...getting all my medical bills in order for tax purposes…what a different kind of nightmare !
dennismcgn
1st PetScan Since Completing Treatments, 6 comments)
Dennis—
This is all fantastic news! I’m so glad you are doing well and that your PET scan shows NED! Congratulations! As for the taxes, well that’s just another one of life’s unpleasantries, but you can get through it! Take care and may God bless.
Hugs—
Martha
Hi Dennis,
Congrats on the good results of your PET. You are an inspiration. And A special thanks for posting the timeframes of healing. Im in the healing stages and I keep complaining how slow it seems to be going. As I read 10 months post surgeries, I feel relieved. I thought I was doing something wrong. You take care of yourself and GOD Bless.
Best Regards,
Elena Cuomo
Posted on Dennis Congradulations to you what good news! Us who are starting our journeys do appreciate your blog. You really are an inspiration to the rest of us! I am going to read you full blog, and take and use from it what I can. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your posts Hugs Val
Posted on Hi Dennis! What wonderful news! I know you breathed a big sigh of relief…I’m waiting to breath mine! My PET scan is scheduled for March 5th. Dennis I was wondering when you first started trying to eat food again when it hit your tongue did it just feel almost revolting? I’ve been trying yogurt, pudding, canned pears, mashed tators…but oh my word when it touches my tongue it’s just the most horrid feeling and I don’t know if that’s because I haven’t eaten or drank anything for so long or I was thinking maybe it was because of this awful thrush I have on my tongue. The mucous situation seemed so much better and now it’s back too…yuck! They put me on Nystatin and that didn’t put a dent in it so just yesterday I started on Diflucan for 7 days…have my fingers crossed that it will finally leave me!
I am so glad you are doing so well Dennis! I’ve read your blog and you are an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
Hugs,
Trice :-)
Hey Dennis,
So…did you do a dance? Yell out “Yoo Hoo”? Celebrate somehow? That has to be a GREAT feeling! Thanks for posting the information about timing, although I would prefer you to revise the timeframes to make them shorter :o)
I’m only one week, today, out of radiation. It’s not easy to imagine 7 months from now. I am praying for patience.
Thanks for all of your posts and your comments on my posts. They have been informative and inspiring.
Now get to work on those taxes!
With gratitude,
Greg
Hi D!
Thanks for your comment on my post. I just wanted to ask if you are taking zinc? I take one tablet per day and I notice that it is increasing my taste. If I skip a day, I do get that pasty bland taste for everything. I am glad to see you are cancer free and improving right along!
Take care my friend,
Anna
Thanks for your support - 
