Hi
I had nasopharyngeal cancer treatment in 2006, and yes - there were issues and difficulties with swallowing food - where I have to have liquid at all times during meals. The biggest issue came about during the COVID pandemic where we had to work from home - for myself, there was NIL interaction and/or communication with anyone at all. That was when my dysphagia sets in - that is where I have problems with speech and swallowing - even with liquids. There were times when I just could not form the words - and my speech was slurry. I was in a panic mode - and after going back to my HNC doctor in the hospital and after sever tests and consultations with speech language pathologists - I was told that this is the late effects of radiation. My options right now is to keep doing dysphagia exercises and hope that my situation will not deteriorate to the point where I need a feeding tube inserted, and where I just could not form any words!! My situation has gone to the point where I have to limit my social activities (because of speech issues and people not able to hear what I said and also because of difficulty in swallowing where I have to spit out what I cannot swallow!!)
I am from Toronto, and do have access to one of the best medical care here. At the moment, am doing my best to keep up with the dysphagia exercises - and hoping to avoid having the feeding tube!