post radiation for hypopharyngeal cancer

Hi. I'm 18 years out. You've probably seen what I attached. The attached paper along with comments you will probably get back will say the answer is yes, light headedness/dizziness can be a long-term radiation therapy side effect. I personally experience these issues more in the summer because I am active and probably don't take in enough water. But I also experience the same sometimes (not as often) in winter. I have noticed my "summer time" BP dropping much lower in recent years vs the past. I've learned to slow things down as needed.

My personal experience is head and neck cancer long-term side effects haven't been extensively studied/there isn't a one stop guide to side effects for all. That combined with we are all affected in different ways makes it tough to know what may be treatment induced vs caused by something else. This blog site has been valuable to me as a tool to benchmark. It doesn't however replace seeing your doctor to be sure there isn't another cause.

I'm sure others will chime in and hopefully you'll get some good clues

I'm sorry your husband is having trouble this far out, but that is not uncommon. Search on Google Scholar for baroreflex failure. It is a later stage side effect with which most doctors are unfamiliar. It can lead to both hypertension and hypotension, resulting in syncope. There isn't a cure, but it can be managed. Hopefully, he is experiencing something more benign. Good luck!

Hi @smith29,

I was officially Stage IVB T2N3M0 tonsil cancer (2008 diagnosis) where I had 35 rounds of Photon radiation which amounted to 70 Gy (7weeks) and 3 rounds (211mg each) for a total of 633 mgs of the platinum-based chemo Cisplatin. I had 3-4 of those type episodes about 10-12 yrs out with maybe a little blurred vision too.

Then tongue cancer in (April 2024) location was literally next to my left tonsil so most likely caused from the radiation. I had a left partial glossectomy with a radical forearm free flap surgery on April 3, 2024. It also included a modified radical neck dissection. Since then, have had way more episode's but I believe from my research that it's my accessory spinal nerve being damaged (called Brachial Plexus Legions/Neuropathy) which is why my left shoulder sags (droopy) and trapezius muscles wasting away with winging of the scapula which includes limited range of motion. The nerve is stressed then presses on all kinds of other nerves, etc.

It seems to happen with high anxiety or when during physical things like after 2 1/2 hours of heavy weightlifting or playing softball, or 5-6 hours of yardwork. I found if I sit down before I fall down at a table and take one arm while holding with the other arm horizontally and apply pressure under the center of my jaw and looking forward and press it up as far as possible, it goes away after 30 seconds or sometimes takes 2-3 minutes.

Hope this helps.