my husband just finished radiation

my husband has just finished his radiation and chemo for tonsil cancer stage 3.  he is now burned up pretty bad and has lost weight. going thru the treatments, he did fine.  When we finished our 7 weeks, he started to burn bad and now has horrible mucus that chokes him day and night.  we have been using dr. katz mouth rinse for dry mouth and it helps alot. i as a caretaker am now tired and worried about the after affects.  Any help or suggestions.  i also suggest zofran and phenegran for nausea as well as making sure that you keep all door knobs, tables, etc clean so they do not get infection.  we also have three large doses of cisplatin. all treatments completed.

Hi. I am 4 months out from what you and your husband have just been through ( Stage 4a, left tonsil, 3 cisplatin, 7 weeks radiation).

The mucus will last about 2 or 3 weeks. Have him try to drink plenty of water, this will help thin out the mucus, keep him hydrated and help maintain his swallowing reflex. He is going to be miserable for these 2 or 3 weeks, but after that improvement is quick. If he has pain, ask the doctors about medication, my doctor gave me a liquid form of oxycodone which not only helped the pain, but also the coughing from the mucus. I also found that sleeping without a pillow helped keep it from choking me while I was trying to sleep.

See if you can get some Aquafor for his neck, try Walgreens, also for dry mouth, the Biotene and Stopper's products are good. You can also get a prescription for Salagen to help saliva production.

Try the Head and Neck Cancer area, it's a little more active than this one. Go over there and read some of the past threads, you'll find more info.

Good luck,

Mike

Take plain Mucinex if he is able to swallow pills, if not, plain Robitussin. It has an ingredient that thins out the mucus and it does work. I used it a LOT for a while there. Also, swishing with plain club soda works wonderfully well for clearing out the stickiness. The mucus thing is absolutely horrible, but it does get better over time.

Thank you very much for your reply.  I never realized how hard it is to go thru cancer treatments and I have a great respect for all of you that have done this. 

Bill is miserable and spitting up mucus 24 hours a day and not able to sleep.  I will use your suggestions and see if it helps.

 What survival rate have the Doctors given you?  I read lots of articles and i know that is not good to do and get mixed articles.

 

God Bless you and I will remember you in my prayers.

 

Brandy and Bill  Farris

www.brandyfarris.com

I second the Robitussin and club soda. Congrats on getting through rads

Hi. I have been finished Rad:& Chemo, for the past 18 months, the mucus

 has not really got better,i am still feeding thru a Peg tube(hole in stomach),can only drink thickened cordial,a cup of tea nearly chokes me,all my meals have to be put thru the food processer. My mouth is so

dry,nothing helps at all,so it,s a long road. Keep your chin up.

                        Regards     Alan

I was treated for 'prostate cancer' three and a half monthes in 2006 and right now my score and psa level is 0.001, in other words the cancer is completely gone and this is only because I have JESUS CHRIST as my LORD and SAVIOUR and it is by the POWER of GOD ALMIGHTY that I am healed and made ever withhold. if you are not saved through JESUS CHRIST than you need to turn your life over to HIM,today. If you are already saved through JESUS CHRIST than STAND ON WHAT THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD has already declared for your healing sake. Thank GOD for the medical people who treat us as best they can but our total reliance has to be completely trusting the LORD for what HE has already done in our lives over two thousand years ago and let only that be the final authority for your lives eternally.

dont worry have a time i had jaw cancer and taken 30 cycle of radiation i also lost test for 15 days but after regained 98% so time will heal all problems just maintain Willpower.