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Sore on tongue from treatments: What helps?

Posted by vickie1320 @vickie1320, Aug 9, 2023

Hi everybody,

My husband has 9 more radiation treatments & 1 more chemo to go. He is having bad pain due to a huge, quarter sized open soar on the right side of his tongue. Everything we try is painful. I put a numbing drops on it & it burns like hell. If not for this, he would be doing so much better. He does not have a feeding tube & doesn’t want that. Does anyone have a suggestion on what to try?
Thank you all for your support. I don’t know how I would get through this without you❤️🙏❤️

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vickie1320 | @vickie1320 | Sep 10, 2023
In reply to @thebgyn123 "I hope he gets through that. I am finished treatment but tongue is still raw it..." + (show)
@thebgyn123

I hope he gets through that. I am finished treatment but tongue is still raw it makes it hard to try to get food down. I use lanacane before forcing the food down. And t3s...list too much weight so pushing down some protein shakes. I take the burn with the food and follow each mouthful with water and baking soda.it neutralizes the burn somewhat and let's me eat the manageable foods.

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So sorry for your pain. My husband is 2 1/2 weeks out from rad & chemo. He had really bad open sore on his tongue as well. Boost & cream of wheat is all he could eat. The sore is soooooo much better now! He eats lots of different thinks (can’t taste).
Lidocaine & magic mouthwash were his best friends and when it go so bad, a pain killer was taken. He doesn’t take those anymore and the pain I has much dissipated. You can do it and you will be so happy. Strong 💪🏼 ❤️

REPLY
Lori57216 | @lori57216 | Sep 11, 2023

vickie1320,
I was going to suggest magic mouthwash too!!!! 🙂

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1 reply
Lori57216 | @lori57216 | Sep 11, 2023
In reply to @lori57216 "vickie1320, I was going to suggest magic mouthwash too!!!! :)" + (show)
@lori57216

vickie1320,
I was going to suggest magic mouthwash too!!!! 🙂

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My Oncologist told me that there was a nationwide shortage of Lidocaine (main ingredient in Magic Mouthwash). I bought me some Orajel (sp) and that worked too. My GP found me some MM @ another pharmacy here in town and I stocked up on it.
I recently (end of June) completed chemo & radiation for #2 round of cancer. Mouth sores were horrendous. The tip of my tongue is still very sensitive to alot of foods. I have all my scans to hopefully confirm the throat cancer is gone.
Good luck & God bless us all!!!!
Lori
Living the Dream

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jonesja | @jonesja | Sep 11, 2023

I gargled baking soda, Salt and water mixture about every 2 hours or so. I believe it stopped any new sores and Helped the ones I had. I forced myself to swallow through the pain in order to stay off the feeding tube. It was really tough. Good luck and God bless.

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thebgyn123 | @thebgyn123 | Sep 18, 2023
In reply to @lori57216 "Ask your Oncologist(s) for a prescription for "Magic Mouthwash". It has lidocaine in it and numbs..." + (show)
@lori57216

Ask your Oncologist(s) for a prescription for "Magic Mouthwash". It has lidocaine in it and numbs the mouth and is safe to swallow for a sore throat. It's very effective for me even 1 month after treatments are done. Still get the sore mouth, cankor sores etc. I've also used Anbesol.
I wish you good luck.
Lori

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Lori how long wa the tongue sore. I am 6 weeks after radiation 35, andi still can't eat acidic solid foods. Tongue is raw and it takes some pain to get any nutrition past it still. Lising weight

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3 replies
Lori57216 | @lori57216 | Sep 19, 2023
In reply to @thebgyn123 "Lori how long wa the tongue sore. I am 6 weeks after radiation 35, andi still..." + (show)
@thebgyn123

Lori how long wa the tongue sore. I am 6 weeks after radiation 35, andi still can't eat acidic solid foods. Tongue is raw and it takes some pain to get any nutrition past it still. Lising weight

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The tip of my tongue is still sore. Especially when I eat crunchy food or acidy foods. Some ppl. say it could take months to get back to normal.
Seriously, get some of that magic mouthwash so you can eat.
Good luck to us all,
Lori

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kkoste41 | @kkoste41 | Sep 19, 2023
In reply to @thebgyn123 "Lori how long wa the tongue sore. I am 6 weeks after radiation 35, andi still..." + (show)
@thebgyn123

Lori how long wa the tongue sore. I am 6 weeks after radiation 35, andi still can't eat acidic solid foods. Tongue is raw and it takes some pain to get any nutrition past it still. Lising weight

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I used Healios mouth rinse. Spendy but works. I bought it on Amazon. Also my Dr gave me liquid lidocaine

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1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 1, 2023
In reply to @kkoste41 "I used Healios mouth rinse. Spendy but works. I bought it on Amazon. Also my Dr..." + (show)
@kkoste41

I used Healios mouth rinse. Spendy but works. I bought it on Amazon. Also my Dr gave me liquid lidocaine

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@kkoste41, thanks for the tip. May I ask what type of cancer you're dealing with? Are you currently in treatment?

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kkoste41 | @kkoste41 | Oct 1, 2023

I have finished treatment for scc tumor in my nose

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1 reply
bestfriend60 | @bestfriend60 | Oct 16, 2023

Hello,

My friend after a year has gone by after radiation and chemo for tongue cancer, is losing some hair. Any suggestions?! Thera gel is what he is using?!

Thank you

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