"My husband's support and treatment through his radiotherapy"

My husband had surgery to remove squamous cell Carsinoma from his neck in March and August 2024. Sadly cancer moved into a saliva gland and some lymph nodes, surgery occurred February 2025 to remove these then radiotherapy was needed. Six weeks five times weekly at Exeter.

Prior to this my husband was advised that eating would become difficult during and after his radiotherapy treatment. He was advised to have a feeding tube inserted into his stomach. Initially he was very reluctant to do this, he couldn’t face the thought of another overnight stay in hospital. The alternative was a nasal feeding tube, which appealed even less and would’ve been difficult with his hay fever. At no time was he pressurised into having the feeding tube fitted, but Emily did spell out how important it was for him to get nutrition, especially through his treatment.

My husband needed tube feeding from the middle of May to the end of June. We were constantly supported by the Dietitian and Abbott nurses, and he recovered very quickly after his radiotherapy stopped in June. He was poorly for another couple of weeks, really rested up and still tube feeding but he’s made a remarkably good recovery, eating most foods getting his sense of taste back. The tube was taken out recently, he’s putting on weight and he’s made an excellent recovery from the surgery and radiotherapy. We’ll know how successful following his scans later in the year.

Overall the multidisciplinary team at North Devon and Exeter, his surgeon Ben, the oncology team, Emily his Dietitian, the specialist nurses the radiotherapy teams, and Abbott nurses have all been brilliant. It’s been very humbling to have this expert service available to us exactly when it was needed.