Radiation side effects with H&N cancer. When will they ever end?

Thanks for the update. I am 6 weeks out of radiation and chemo and my problem is too much saliva. I go through boxes of tissue throughout the day. I still have pain in my throat and am pretty much on a liquid diet. Hoping it gets better.

Hi @davehutsell. You just happened to catch me browsing mid-day. Too much saliva would make a lot of us envious. This issue seems common to mouth injuries and certainly to oral surgeries probably as a mechanism of the body to fight off bacteria and keep the mouth clean. Not that this is comfortable for you by any means.
It probably seems like you will never get better but chances are you will. It just takes months and for some issues years. Either the problems go away or we just get used to living with them. I think in three months you should be much improved.
Liquids only or can you do soup, oatmeal, custard, etcetera? My favorite was Root beer Floats but that is basically liquid I guess. My wife made several items one night where I tried different foods and was surprised at what I could swallow, what tasted good, and what tasted like a sewer pipe.
As we encourage, think positive. The odds are in your favor. You win this you can win at so much more in life. You are in the midst of a life changing experience. You can reach out to me and others anytime with questions (although it may take more than five minutes for a response). If you include a bit of detail as to type or location of cancer this can go a long way on specifics. So welcome and I wish you fast healing.

I am doing soups, yogurt, high calorie boost, scrambled egg, I even did some salmon last Sunday.
Thank you for your encouragement. I feel physically I’m about 75% yet I am grounded in my faith in Jesus Christ and then there is my wife. She is pulling me through this time. I hope you are recovering well.

Oh my cancer is squamous cell at the base of my tongue. It has spread into a lymph node on my neck. My GP found that and that is how the cancer was discovered in late Feb. 23. The Mayo Drs said stage 1 , we caught it early. I had no pain or discomfort pre diagnosis. I go back Aug 21 for scans to see if they got it.

Hey Dave,
Most times radiation results no saliva as it did for me.
I will be 7 years out in November and still have dry mouth and nothing has helped.

As for your liquid diet at 6 weeks out.
If you’re able to ingest by mouth you are fortunate.
Keep using your throat!
It took nearly a year before I could ingest oatmeal.

Talk to your oncologist about pain management.
But, if you can get by without pain meds then I suggest staying off them.

Fight the good fight!

MOJO

Thank you so much for the encouragement. Yes I can do without pain meds other than I take liquid Tylenol 3 times a day.
This morning I ate an egg. On the fridge my wife has a saying. Courage-"Understanding your weaknesses and doing something about it." So with every bite I said courage. and then chased it down with a mixture of Gatorade and water. After that I had a Boost 530 with another 4 oz of Carnation Instant Breakfast drink high calorie. This is definitely a a day to day fight. But one worth getting in the ring everyday.

Absolutely, keep up the great work!

I had Nasopharyngeal Cancer in 2014. Found out I had it in early October. Had the 35 radiation treatments. Done the day after Christmas. What a gift. I was so ready for it to be over. In many many ways. I had that camera up my nose so many times I can't count. Had thrush. They were very worried about that. Took about two months to finally get rid of it. Lost some of my hair. At the back of my neck. Lost about thirty pounds and am not looking for it at all. It can stay lost. After coming home from the hospital with the feeding tube I tried and literally couldn't eat. So I lived on milkshakes for a year. Boost powder and liquid, good ice cream and heavy whipping cream. Two a day. My problems that are lasting are still after all this time. No saliva to speak of. I use Biotene gel. Lots of it. I have no tastebuds that work. Nothing tastes like it used to. They said it should come back in a few months. I'm still waiting. With no saliva it's difficult to eat. you need it to break up food. So you drink and get full to quickly. Sometimes when I think about food I get half sick. "I'm sure that's all in my head". It's hard for me to eat what I cook. That's probably my biggest problem. I took naps for probably a good year after I was done with treatments. Very seldom now. The mild depression I had before has multiplied by probably 80 now. I have to go to a specialist dentist that deals with problems like mine and I use a flouride treatment daily. And unfortunately I don't have any insurance that they accept. $$$$ Lots out of my pocket. My hearing is slowly getting to the point that I'll need hearing aids soon. Could be age partly. Since my head is dry so are my eyes, throat and sinuses. I also use Simply Saline Daily Care to relieve dryness. Works wonders. My memory is horrible. I'm sure mostly due to the radiation treatments. And I have wrinkles that you wouldn't believe but.. BUT with all of this I'm still here. I am willing to answer any questions anyone has that I can. It isn't easy to live with but somehow we do it. Also they decided that my cancer was caused by HPV. Which I knew I had years before and was told it was gone. Of course how was I to know that I would end up with this kind of cancer or any kind. I also want to say that I have been a very lucky lady to have been put in the hands of the doctors that I have. I love them like no one can ever imagine. I had the best of care from everyone. Nurses, doctors, the people that took me to treatments when I was in the hospital, the dietary staff, the people that did the testing for my throat when I had my horrible case of thrush. All of these people were great to me and I tried my best not to be needy and I NEVER gave anyone a difficult time. I don't believe in being a DEMANDING horrible person. None of them deserve it. I was at Seidman Cancer Hospital in Cleveland Ohio and would recommend it to anyone. I think that I will always have things that aren't the same as before I was sick but I've learned to live with them. I hope that maybe my "story" might help someone. Thanks for reading.

I cant eat anything out of a can. It tastes like the can. They also recommend using plastic utensils if you get that tinny taste. You said sewer pipe and I had to laugh. My husband was a plumber and before I got sick I would go on some of his jobs with him. You put a wonderful picture in my head. Thank you. LOL

My pallet of food is growing . I did notice my sense of smell changed with foods I used to love. Fried foods smell horrible to me. I have eaten salmon and it is good if it is cooked right. Translucent so it goes down easy.