Health Status...

I don't know if it's since I've stopped my beloved magic mouthwash, or just coincidentally this stage of the evolution of my recuperation, but my mouth and throat have certainly been worse lately.

My mouth is much drier than usual, my voice is much cracklier and painful and my throat hurts more often than it used.

This may also be due to the fact that I've been working quite a lot lately. When I work obsessively, which is generally the way I work, I tend to forget the biological basics. Generally I stand up from my chair at some point and realise that I haven't been to the toilet in many hours and probably should have. More importantly however I am probably not forcing myself to drink water half as often as I should. Generally I open my mouth to speak and suddently realise my mouth and throat are extremely dry because I haven't lubricated them for over an hour. For most people, with normally functioning salivary glands, this isn't a big deal as nature provides them with natural lubrication. But for me that water is vital and I have to get used to forcing myself...

Every night I massage ointment (Ultralan) in to my zapped skin around my neck and specifically in to my scar. This tends to relieve the tension and constricted feelings for quite some time. However over the past few weeks I've definitel been having more and more moments of pain either around the scar directly or more generally at the back of my neck above the scar, or along my left shoulder and sometimes down my left arm. The pain comes and goes and is not debilitating or incapacitating at all. It's just annoying and not enjoyable. I am amazed how accustomed to pain I have become since September 2005. I live with a certain amount of pain every day and throughout the day and have learned to just not think about it and get on with my life when possible.

My last appointment with my surgeon / throat doctor was in January and, as I recall, did not go very well. At the end of my appointment he told me to see him again in mid-April. I called today and made myself an appointment for April 19th. He will most definitely show his probes up my nostrils and down my throat and let me know if that area is entirely clear which will obviously be good news. But I am actually hoping that he will prescribe some form of scan (maybe PET) or other tests to ensure that I am currently cancer free.

It's going to be a long wait...