Trilogy
How to help the Mind, Body & Spirit survive Mouth, Head & Neck Cancer
by
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Carol writes: September was soon approaching and I was recovering fast from the essential radiotherapy treatment. I still felt very tired, even exhausted at times. But I knew I would improve as I regained my strength.
My speech was not good and at times caused much confusion and hilarity. I would say something to someone and the answer would be nothing remotely like the one I anticipated. I often wondered what on earth they thought I had said, but didn’t like to ask.
I had difficulty pronouncing certain syllables and consonants, making my visits to speech therapy more important than ever after being zapped for six weeks with radiation rays. I couldn’t pronounce Ks and Gs due to losing one third of my tongue. Words such as eggs and dogs would become ebbs and dobs. A drink would become gink and I am still teased unmercifully about ginks.
In fact ginks has become part of the family vocabulary. Poor old Grandpa became vampire and although I know this is not a very common word, cuckoo became hookoo, a new breed of bird . . .
. . . my grandson recently asked me to stick my tongue out. “I can’t,” I said. After much persuasion, I eventually managed the tip only. “Hurrah,” he cried, “Will you do that for all my friends?” We both collapsed with much merriment.
I laughed and thought how strange it all was. So many things are so different and yet I’m still the same person. I can’t whistle any more, but I can still sing, which I do find odd.
Ann writes: It was too early to have any painkillers so one of the nurses suggested walking down the corridor to an empty ward where there was a big television set that I could watch to try and take my mind off my arm and lift my mood.
As it happened there was a programme on the history of Rock and Roll, starting in the 50s, and although this was a bit before my time in the socialising sense, I found myself dancing. I love dancing; it’s great for my back and restless legs and was a brilliant distraction for my painful arm. Luckily there was nobody about, at least I hope not, but God knows what I must have looked like. Quite a sight I should think, because by then, the bruising was coming out on my face, everything hung off me and I looked as if I had been in a boxing ring rather than a dance floor.
But in my head, that’s precisely where I was – on the dance floor. After all, it was Saturday night and I didn’t care; I was lost in a world of my own and it was great. It took my mind off my arm and I didn’t need painkillers for quite some time after.
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About the Book
FEW operations are more daunting than surgery for mouth, head and neck cancer. It is long and complicated and leaves patients with many difficulties on the road to recovery.
Carol Dunstone’s surgeon told her: “You can face the wall or turn round and face the future.” She and her friend Ann Bennett opted for the latter and both survived triumphantly.
To help others along the way, these two inspirational women have revealed how they did it. They tackle difficult issues like feeding tubes, learning to talk again, dealing with scars and dry mouth and regaining their confidence.
The authors tell how medical experts set them on their journeys of recovery, what made them laugh and cry and how family and friends raised their spirits.
They suggest where to find professional comfort and advice and list mainstream and complementary practitioners who can help you look and feel better.
Their sense of fun and joie de vivre comes out in their Recipes chapter with dozens of delicious dishes for those with eating difficulties.
Anyone facing an operation for mouth, head and neck cancer or having to cope with a recovering relative, will feel a lot more optimistic after reading Carol and Ann’s wise and witty words.
About the Author
CO-AUTHORS Carol Dunstone and Ann Bennett met in Northampton, England in 2005 at a support group for patients recovering from mouth, head and neck cancer.
The group is called FACEFAX and Carol, a ceramic artist who had helped set it up, was recovering from an operation six years earlier. Ann, a complementary therapy consultant, was attending her first meeting after surgery the previous year.
They discovered that not only were they recovering from similar illnesses but shared a determination to help other people in the same predicament. So they decided to pool their experiences and write a book explaining how mind, body and spirit can be restored after cancer.
These two extremely attractive ladies are living proof that it is possible to return to a normal life after difficult surgery and Trilogy describes their individual journeys of recovery. It also provides countless tips on solving problems.
Both authors are married. Carol has three children and Ann has one and they reveal how their family and close friends helped them through. But they also called on a great deal of specialist help and they devote three chapters to describing it and where it can be found. People like Macmillan nurses, oncologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, masseurs, diet specialists, dentists, hairdressers and cosmetic suppliers. They also give full details of complementary therapists offering treatments such as Reiki healing, cymatherapy, spiritual healing, reflexology and hypnotherapy.
And for those having difficulty eating after mouth surgery, they offer nearly 40 delicious recipes for easy-to-eat dishes, compiled with the help of their friends.
The message in Trilogy is one of great optimism and love of life and the book will be a help and comfort to anyone who is about to undergo surgery or embark on the journey of recovery.