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Husband diagnosed with tonsil cancer: looking for tips and support

Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Apr 4 11:41am | Replies (174)
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@cris2

Was it still hard to eat and swallow a couple weeks after treatment was over?
I just wondered when his mouth wouldn’t be so dry, he rinses with baking soda and salt throughout the day but doesn’t really help, he has to get up in the night to rinse also.

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Replies to "Was it still hard to eat and swallow a couple weeks after treatment was over? I..."
William Olsen, Volunteer Mentor | @hrhwilliam | Mar 16 6:44pm

Hi @cris2 That is about normal two to four weeks out. Swallowing requires the use of about fifty small muscles including the tongue and some of these probably are not working well, at least for a while. Stick to soft foods and nothing dry like white rice or white meat chicken. No bread at least for a few months.
Keep up the mouth rinses as they help prevent mouth sores and infections. Healing will be extra slow. That radiation is nasty stuff as it doesn’t attack just the cancer.
Dry mouth to some extent might last for years. He will need a water bottle all of the time.
We do learn to live again. The alternative is not a good one. It can be depressing for a while but it won’t last forever. Courage.

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