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Late side effects of radiation treatment for head and neck cancer
I highly recommend that everyone who is concerned with the effects of being treated for Head & Neck Cancer, or Otolaryngology cancers, read this article to understand the potential side effects that any of us may face years after treatment from surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Dr. Brook authored this article as well as a book on his personal experience with cancer.
"Late side effects of radiation treatment for head and neck cancer"
By Itzhak Brook, April 14, 2020
Radiation Oncology Journal
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7533405/pdf/roj-2020-00213.pdf
Dr. Brook also published “My Voice: A Physician's Personal Experience With Throat Cancer”, available for free download here:
https://www.entnet.org/wp-content/uploads/files/uploads/PracticeManagement/Resources/_files/myvoice.ebook_.pdf
The book captures three years following his throat cancer diagnosis and tells his personal story of dealing with medical treatment for his laryngectomy and adjusting to life afterwards.
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I’d rather not identify the teaching medical school. I’m sure they do lots of people good but not me. In my case it was a nightmare, ultimately they gave me a wrong diagnosis of ALS that was traumatic for my family. Here’s the rest of the story… I identified to my MD at the teaching medical university my breathing difficulties. They had my full medical history including my radical neck dissection, radiation etc. They had my records along with an extensive intake of current status of symptoms which was complex, they were neurological. It appears (per an opinion from another MD) that the results of the automatic testing from this teaching medical university were assessed with a neurological mindset and not including my cancer surgery with radiation. Secondly, they didn’t have the Thermoregulatory Sweat Test room which is like an “oven” where they heat your entire body and they cover your body with medication to determine where your body sweats and where it doesn’t. They did a “spot” sweat medication on one leg only. So beware, for a proper automatic testing you need that special oven room with that body medication (only a few places in the country have this). My medical testing report from Mayo of their autonomic testing shows a picture of my body of where I sweat and don’t sweat. That combined with the Autonomic Reflex Test results arrived with the correct diagnosis of ABF.
@tracey8 Yes, I had vertigo for a period of time for about a month. It subsided and didn’t come back. This happened about 27 years after my radiation and during flair ups of MS and autonomic Afferent Baroreflex Failure (ABF) symptoms. The vertigo occurred when I was in a prone/sleeping position, throughout the night/morning when I moved my head or tried to sit up. I was told by my neurologist (who I trusted) that it could be transitory, and it turned out he was correct. Cognitively, I’m somewhat slower over time.
Thank you for your response, It is the worst thing I have ever experienced,
And Good Lord have been through it. I could not be alone, drive, watch my
granddaughter, felt like I was on a spinning ride.Had to go on anti nausea
medicine due to the vomiting. So when I was told the only treatment was PT,
I thought they were wacky..lol after 2 treatments I felt so much
better.Still not 100% But thank the good Lord above better.