I haven't made any recent updates since there really wasn't anything new going on.
Mainly for the last several weeks, I've been trying new foods. Some work. Some don't. Some sort of work, but I want to try them again soon. The mouth is slowly recovering from the radiation. It's still very easily irritated, so I'm having to be quite cautious of how spicy a dish is. And spicy doesn't necessarily mean hot...sometimes it's just the type of spice that irritates the membranes of my mouth. I am noticing, though, that some of this is dwindling. As time passes, it should do nothing but improve.
I got to see my new doctor today. This is the Ear, Nose, Throat doctor who replaced Dr. Lehr. He's actually my stepmother's ENT, too, and I know she likes him. Dr. Holland is who I'm now seeing.
He poked around (gonna have Pokey Mouth a bit tomorrow, I'm sure), and pronounced me good to go. Even a ridge that's appeared in the last 10-14 days on the inside of my left cheek is nothing to worry about. I didn't think it was because it does disappear when I wear a mouthguard and it never hurts. Still, with my history, I wanted to be doubly careful. It's simply a response to me irritating it by biting it. It's on the same side I sleep on and runs in a line from the back of my jaw up alongside my teeth, and then stops where the gum curves around to come in front. It's also the side I sleep on.
So yeah. Keep an eye on it because it's not a good idea to have a constant irritation, but unless something changes, it's nothing to worry about.
Dr. Holland has prescribed a drug to help increase my saliva production. He said they're hit or miss, but to try this one and see if it works. If it doesn't, I'll come off it and try it again in a few weeks.
I probably won't be updating too much. Every few weeks, probably. I have my next appointment with Dr. Mundy in late August. Dr. Holland has put me on a three month follow-up schedule...he sees me again in mid-October. He did tell me they will schedule one more CT scan before the end of the year...pretty much what we had figured.
So I'll update again before my appointment in late August and then again after I see Dr. Mundy.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe summer! As for me...I'm still plotting to live forever and take over the world, and my cancer survivorship is playing along nicely. :)