Getting frustrated with throat pain post radiation

@sart Hello and welcome.
I often wonder how long it takes to get all of our nerves working normally after radiation, or is it the tissue cells rebuilding that gives us such misery at times. For me it was years, but only occasionally and for brief moments. And when that all finally went away, I had to have my mandible replaced which now five years later still gives me brief grief at the most unexpected times.
I guess these pains remind us of worse days behind. Good healing for you. Hopefully it all clears up in the the next year or two.

I had 25 radiation treatments and surgery (tonsil and lymph nodes). No chemo. I'm 4 months out from my last radiation treatment. I had no feeding tube and it was rough, but I'm happy now I didn't have one. I can tell you the worst has been the side effects of radiation. I have had some tastes come back, but not like I was hoping. I get to taste something and on the second bite it's gone. I can't taste sweets very well at all, which may be a good thing? I lost about 20 pounds and I'm slowly gaining it back. I go to PT and have my neck heavily worked my a great therapist. I'm improving a lot compared to the others I'm reading about. The other comments I read frankly scare the crap out of me. My heart goes out to them all. I have a small ball in my throat I attribute to radiation fibrosis. I'm trying hard to work that away with massage. My best time is the morning and as the day lingers on my throat becomes little sore and voice starts to fade. Right now, compared to others, I'm not complaining.

@harleytiger It looks like you are doing everything you can to overcome the damage from the radiation. It does take time, more time than you might think.
What others go though might not necessarily be what you have to deal with. I agree that all the info out there can scare the crap out of you however, we usually only hear the worst from patients. A few report little to no issues at all. I know of a few who didn't make it past the first year and I know a several who were back to normal more or less in two months. We are all unique. We don't all get a diagnosis at the same stage in the disease. Men especially seem to hold off getting looked at by a physician until they reach a point where the issue interferes with life. When treatment begins in those cases it is often very late and results in massive damage.
As for you sir, I believe you are doing just fine.

@fobarrett I ordered one and it just didn't work for me. I use soft cloth surgical tape by Medipore.

@harleytiger
Keep the faith and take it one day at a time. Believe me I know it’s not easy (I’m one month post surgery and radiation) and I see small improvements week to week. Wish I was “back to normal “ yesterday but that’s not realistic and patience is key.
Stay positive mentally, get some exercise and rest when you’re feeling tired…you will get better!

Hi,
I had Stage 4 metastatic OPSCC (base of tongue). PEG Tube, 35 radiation treatments and two rounds of Cisplatin. Finished treatment in September 2025. It’s a long road but it does get better though it’s different for everyone. I took me 5 months to get off the feeding tube and I really had to make a conscious effort because I had painful swallowing, lost all taste, and had basically lost any interest in food. I have friends who have been on their feeding tube for over a year, so I am lucky but eating becomes a chore to try and maintain weight and muscle mass. I relied heavily on Ensure Plus Calories to make up most of my daily requirements, but have made progress slowly but surely in increasing my oral intake. Taste comes back slowly, all of a sudden a grilled cheese tastes like a grilled cheese etc. my recommendation is try small amounts of everything and find out what you can tolerate. Slow and steady.

My current fight is that the cancer has gone to my liver. I just had a wedge resection on Friday to remove a growth. Hopefully my next scan will come back clear, but I know that all of us live with the realization that this cancer thing can come back at anytime. I wish all of you happiness and joy in life no matter what this terrible disease throws at you.

@colleenyoung It went ok. I'm getting used to MRI's. I wish the pain would stop long enough to eat 1 full meal.

@roadtecguy you still have a lot of healing left to do. It takes many months to years to get back to your new normal. I hope yours does not include chronic pain. Don't forget that simple stuff, like ice packs, can give temporary relief.

I tried everything they could throw at me. Just my luck it could be permanent. I'll really be miserable

I am 2 weeks past RAI treatment and every day my mouth gets worse. Numbness, new ulcers every day including my lips (Mar-aLago lips), no ability to swallow, can only drink liquids, mouth bleeds every morning when I get up, heavy drooling in my sleep, etc., etc.

If I had ever known how awful, awful, painful and depressing the RAI effects would be, I would not have gone forward with that treatment, asked for something different is that was possible. Or just live with the consequences of the cancer. This is no way to live

If anyone asked me about the RAI treatment, I would definitely advise against it