SCC HPV+ on right tonsil and nodes treatment plan.

Thank you for sharing your experience with meds. Did you have surgery or did your throat shut down because of radiation treatment? I will be getting biopsy surgery in January and am not looking forward to what comes after that.

No cancer surgery, they said I had too much cancer. My throat shut down due to radiation treatments.
Use your throat as much as possible because your throat muscles can actually forget how to function and like a baby you have to learn how to swallow food again.
My epiglottis is barely functioning so I choke on food very easily. I found that gravy helps food go down easier. I have eaten more country gravy and oatmeal in the past 6 years than in my lifetime! I had my feeding tube for several months after treatments. I finally realized that I had to get the tube removed and force myself to eat!

@sandralea58 Hi! It looks like same as my dad case and treatment offered. He was diagnosed last Jan. Hows your husband now? He took both treatment or radiation only?
As you mentioned in your comment,
“ given his age the cisplatin is not highly recommended” , my dad is 71. We are worried because of his age.

Any info would be appreciated.

Our oncologist told us that the cisplatin would/could make the radiation more effective due to the nature of chemo drugs. But at 70 the risks of cisplatin outweighed the benefit.

Hi. There is another chemo drug they can offer if the risk from the cisplatin is too great. Our Cancer Centre here in BC did not offer it. Those with hearing loss before treatment should really be aware. My husband’s tonsil/base of tongue cancer was HPV+. He received only radiation as his treatment plan. He declined the chemo offered. His PET scan is early April. I will post the outcome. He managed fine with the radiation. Not a cake walk by any means, but he followed all the recommendations from his team. The SLP was very important and the exercises given were a blessing. His RD watched his weight, and he got through without a feeding tube. Magic Mouthwash helped significantly, and moisturizing the neck was very important. Mentally, I believe all cancer diagnosis are difficult for the patient and the caregiver/spouse and family. During this period in society, where a lot of visits are virtual and without human touch, it made things more difficult and were dearly missed. I wish you and your dad well!

@sandralea58 : thank you so very much for all this information.

Mojo244, I can relate. I did not realize that I began not to swallow several months after treatment ended, Nov 2021, & developed severe Radiation Fibrosis (scare tissue). Epiglottis is not functioning and given tumor on base of left side of tongue, that is not functioning as best as possible. Have speech therapist now; never offered during treatment. Had tube immediately removed. However, over time, I puree everything which makes eating slightly easier. Had esophagus stretched twice but 2nd time not as successful. May have to have tube again to ensure nutrition & to regain weight, which despite hi-protein/calorie shakes + eating, is not adding pounds as hoped. I too add gravy, cream soups and applesauce on many things to make it easier to swallow. Any other suggestions welcomed

The feeding tube is a pain but it might be what you need for proper nutrition. You’re fortunate that you can get some foods down, keep trying!

Agree about using throat as much as possible, and I'm reluctantly putting feeding tube back in to supplement and NOT rely on. It's our hope to gain weight and that it gives me more flexibility when traveling or just going out for dinner. We'll see... Take care and thank you for replying.

I am 66 years old and had the exact same diagnosis as your dad. In my case, because my neck tumor was large, I opted for 6 weeks of inductive chemotherapy with Carboplatin followed by the standard treatment of 35 radiation treatments and 6 weeks of Cisplatin chemo. I will say that the radiation side effects were much greater than the chemo. The bottom line is I am now cancer free and doing well with some minor lingering side effects that may or may not disappear over time. I can live with that since I have my life back! I don’t know your dads specific detail, but this treatment worked for me as long as you listen to your doctors and take their advice on medicines to alleviate the nausea, etc that comes with chemo. He can beat this! I pray all goes well and God bless!!