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Swallowing hard 7 wks after radiation: Will it get better?
My husband on 10/31/24 completed 7wks of head and neck radiation for stage 4 squamous cell. The act of swallowing still hurts my husband. Is it going to get better for him?
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Thank you. Just swallowing water is difficult. Thats all he us swallowing right now
He could perhaps try warm chicken or beef broth, Jello, or even tea or coffee initially. It does take time especially since he was on a feeding tube, a bit of re-learning. Hard work and courage. It isn't easy this recovery stuff. Better days ahead.
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3 ReactionsIt sucks. Hard to watch him struggle.
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2 Reactions@johnbonani I had a similar duration treatment for SCC, but today I'm only 2 months out. Thanks for your comment and advice!
Currently, swallowing is a like my workout routine. Tylenol before a meal seems to help and very small sips of room temp water with every bite are mandatory.
It's a chore but I keep pushing myself everyday to find soft compatible food. Every swallow hurts, but surprisingly certain biscuits (with jelly) and even certain pizza crusts are possible to take down.
It's encouraging to see you and others making gains after treatment.
Thank you again.. please keep posting!
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5 Reactions@bonepool Hopefully here are some more encouraging words... it's hard to believe my post you referred to was when I was 7 months post treatment. Now I'm a year and 7 months! Seems like yesterday when swallowing was so painful I thought it would never get better. So this tells me two things. One, time goes by fast even though I know it doesn't seem like it when you're suffering and secondly this thing we're all going or have gone through without a doubt gets better slowly but it does continue to get better with time. Keep trying to find anything that you can get down. For me it was frozen wontons from the supermarket I would boil in chicken broth. Once I came off the feeding tube I lived on only this for months before slowly introducing other foods. BTW Presently I can eat whatever I want, still need sips of water but no big deal. Loving life again! Keep fighting and stay positive. Better days are coming.
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7 ReactionsYes it will but it takes time and effort to strengthen the muscles needed. I faithfully did a series of exercises (I think recommended by Sanford University…speech pathology) to address this right after I had surgery and continued after my radiation therapy ended (late September to end of December). For a brief period of time towards the end of radiation (10 days ) I was on a liquid diet but otherwise was on a soft diet of solid foods. Today, six weeks after active treatment concluded I have no restrictions on my diet and can tolerate most foods except for bready foods & salty nuts that I have difficulty with due to dry mouth symptoms.
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1 Reaction@bonepool I had radiation and chemo about 18 mo ago for tonsil cancer. I received swallowing therapy at Gibbs Cancer Center that was very helpful. It consisted of 3 or 4 sessions and "exercises" to do at home.
@albion223 Same here, my eating restrictions were short lived. The bread does suck the saliva right out of my mouth. Sandwiches are still not a pleasant to eat. I prefer eating anything with a wet/moist factor. What I really come to enjoy is eating my meats with Au jus sauce. When I'm at a restaurant I ask for Au jus sauce and they usually have it. My wife makes it at home too. It was a game changer that added flavor and moisture.