Post treatment for SCC tongue cancer following 7 weeks radiation

Has your husband's dr suggested lidocaine throat spray? How about the swallow test? Can he swallow pudding or ice cream? Can he taste any type of food? It's very frustrating for both of you. My husband had 15 radiation treatments and 4 chemo sessions, his taste buds are starting to come back, his treatments ended Dec 31st. It's a long road and from what other people say on here not easy but worth it. Keep us updated?

@lizzyj58 He was using lidocaine mouthwash during treatment but has stopped using it. Using Biotene mouthwash now after trying to eat. His biggest problem is with swallowing due to not continuously following the therapies the speech therapist advised him to do such as tucking his chin to the left, swallowing, hard cough and swallow again. He was also given throat exercises which again, I don't believe he faithfully followed. I know it's difficult to do that, but now we believe he's suffering the consequences. He's been swallowing pudding but now needs to eat pureed foods or thickened liquids due to the possibility of aspirating. Did your husband have a g-tube for nutritional feedings? We do this three times/day.

Thanks for replying. It is frustrating.

@lizzyj58 I forgot to mention that he did have a swallow test a few weeks ago and they are talking about doing another one.

@sharooni
yes, i am familiar with his ordeal. i use a gtube and have dysphagia too. I urge him to profusely keep his mouth clean and do swallowing exercises.

@sharooni My husband didn't have one but now dr is asking him again,we'll see. It would probably be a good idea to have another one. My husband did a few exercises but not for long. Sincerely hope your husband's health improves.

@zenren14 How long ago was your treatment? Just curious. I know everyone is different in their recovery from this. I tube feed him 3/times a day with Nutren as per his nutritionist. Even with that he has lost weight. He struggles with trying to eat soft foods. Thanks for responding. It helps to hear from others

@sharooni Yes. My husband received the same chemoradiation treatment plan as yours which he finished in May 2025.

The side effects of treatment have been a daily challenge. Our care team at the James Cancer Center in Columbus has been incredible. I have learned so much from them. I’m not sure how long it has been since your husband completed treatment? Recovery is very, very slow.

Sorry. Just reread your post. One month post treatment.

In my husband’s case, the effects of the radiation continued to impact him for about 6 weeks. He also had a g-tube so our focus was getting him the 3,000 calories he needed daily, mainly through the tube and pain management. He also did the all exercises that speech and swallowing recommended. Due to mucositis, he really wasn’t able to drink much, let alone eat during this time frame.

I'm sorry your husband and you are going through this. I didn't realize how hard it was on my wife when I underwent this 20 years ago. I went through 8+ weeks of radiation and did 6/7 chemo treatments. It was not a pleasant experience. Since I've been coming to this website, I've learned everyone's experience is different. I had a G-tube, couldn't eat or drink, and would have been miserable much of the time if the pain medicines I was on hadn't kept me comfortable. Getting through to the other side is a challenge, but things eventually get better. We are all in a fight for survival, and it's no surprise we might come through it with battle scars. Good luck!

@sharooni No, my husband didn't have a feeding tube, he was lucky. Probably because he had 15 radiation treatments and 2 chemo ( he had chemo over 2 days ,3 weeks apart). As he wasn't eating much,no taste, he had 2 episodes of double vision. Gave him 4 glucose tablets and these worked,he's not diabetic but I take them sometimes for low blood sugar, I'm not diabetic either. For some reason Chinese food was palatable. Maybe if your husband tries soft noodles? It feels like 2 steps forward and 1 step back at times but each week, not each day, there seems to be a little improvement.