Phlegm and Saliva filling in the mouth after tongue sarcoma

Posted by wretired2000 @wretired2000, Jun 15, 2022

My husband had a sarcoma of the tongue and throat He was diagnosed in 10/20 and has been cured by radiation and immunotherapy. Now his mouth fills with mucus in great Quantities preventing him from being able to swallow food and also affects his speech. He has been on a feeding tube for over a year. The doctors do not know how to stop the flow. Next step to try is hyperbaric. Any one out there that has success with dealing with this problem.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Head & Neck Cancer Support Group.

loli | @loli | Jun 15, 2022

I am surprised that after radiation therapy he is producing so much saliva. My salivary glands were affected by radiation and I suffer from lack of saliva. I do not know what is worse:. Too much or too little.
I would study the hyperbaric treatment further. It can impact your lungs. It was recommended to me for tooth pulling and I refused it. Find more about it.
In Spanish we say that sometimes the broth is more expensive than the meatballs if you know what I mean

Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jun 15, 2022

Hi @wretired2000, this must be scary and concerning for you and your husband. I moved your message to the Head & Neck Cancer group (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/head-neck-cancer/) so you can connect with others like @alpaca @loli @ezg @drmiller and more.

@russparsons wrote about a similar excessive mucus issue in the Esophageal Cancer group and @mindyt describes her experience with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy here:
- Excessive Mucus with Esophageal Cancer: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/excessive-mucus-with-esophageal-cancer/

Did your husband also have surgery?