Anyone know of exercises or therapies to improve swallowing?

Posted by dsd1939 @dsd1939, Nov 14, 2022

My wife is 4 months from the radiation and chemo treatments for esophageal cancer. The tumor has reduced and she’s able to swallow very soft foods. My question is, anyone know of exercises or therapies to improve swallowing?

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@mtrombit

Has anyone experienced inconsistent swallowing with adenocarcinoma esophageal cancer? My brother cannot swallow during the day and can only swallow at night. If you have, do you know what causes it? If so, can you please share if you had a remedy?

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@mtrombit and @grac3honolulu, I moved your questions about swallowing and espophageal cancer to this existing discussion:
- Anyone know of exercises or therapies to improve swallowing? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/therapy-for-swallowing/

I did this so that you can read previous posts and easily connect with each other and fellow members like @dsh33782 @lori57216 @puprluvr @56899t52 @dsd1939 @cookierockwell @dave640 and others.

@mtrombit, how is your brother doing?
@grac3honolulu, has the swallowing improved? How are you doing?

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My daughter is a speech language pathologist (SLP). She works with many stroke, esophageal and head and neck cancer patients in her practice. Many of her patients have significant swallowing issues and benefit from
the rehabilitative therapies she provides. I would strongly the recommend that you seek a consult with an SLP for help with your swallowing issues.

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Hi
Regarding swallowing, all I could do is sip water when I went to ER and ended up having endoscopy that found cancerous tumor in lower esophagus. The good news is that after initial 3 chemo treatments, the tumor swrunk 40% and I could swollow soft food. Have you had an endoscopy yet?

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@colleenyoung

@mtrombit and @grac3honolulu, I moved your questions about swallowing and espophageal cancer to this existing discussion:
- Anyone know of exercises or therapies to improve swallowing? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/therapy-for-swallowing/

I did this so that you can read previous posts and easily connect with each other and fellow members like @dsh33782 @lori57216 @puprluvr @56899t52 @dsd1939 @cookierockwell @dave640 and others.

@mtrombit, how is your brother doing?
@grac3honolulu, has the swallowing improved? How are you doing?

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I’m still on liquid diet and I feel my tumor shrink but still have pain to swallow and I have a lots of mucus coming out, I always have my yaks bag with me. I’m done my radiation and chemo last week. I’m getting IV Hydration since i continue losing weight. Is anyone has the same symptoms? Thank you

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@grac3honolulu

I’m still on liquid diet and I feel my tumor shrink but still have pain to swallow and I have a lots of mucus coming out, I always have my yaks bag with me. I’m done my radiation and chemo last week. I’m getting IV Hydration since i continue losing weight. Is anyone has the same symptoms? Thank you

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My tumor was in my mouth. It resulted in not being able to swallow or open my mouth as the jaw muscles tightened. My last chemo was a year ago Feb. I worked with a physical therapist and continue to do exercises on the muscles in my face, jaw, and neck with no noticable improvement. All I can say is keep trying and don't give up. Also, I was given a feeding tube due to weight loss. Please be aware that is an option before you lose too much weight. Best wishes to you.

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