Loss Voice

My husband has tonsil cancer spread to lymph node on left side of neck. He had 2 does of cisplatin (one more at the end of treatment) and has 9 more radiation treatments left. The past week has been the worst. He has bad pain in his throat and sores in his mouth and throat. His upper chest and neck are all red. Today his voice is starting to go. He's worried that he's getting too much radiation. I try to tell him that its normal to feel this way so far into his treatment. He's also irritable and now thinks his radiation oncologist is a "quack" . Can you tell me if what he's feeling is normal side effects, especially the loss of his voice. Thanks for your input.

my S.O. has 3 more treatments to go...his voice has been between a whisper and raspy for about a week...we were told to expect this.  one thing he discovered that helped his voice was to get in the shower and let if get really steamy and stay in for some time..also putting a towel over his head while leaning over the sink and letting the hot water run.  his voice is much better after doing this and it also loosens up the thick mucous so that he can cough some of it up more easily.  his radiologist was very surprise that he still had any voice left...so it is to be expected.  though it doesnt make it any less frustrating.

he is almost done! hang in there...i know it is hard when they are frustrated and there is nothing you can do to make it better.

~meesh

I had cisplatin and radiation for tonsillar cancer, and I lost my voice for about 2 or 3 months. I could croak a few words here and there, but mostly I just whispered. Sorry to say, but your husband's condition will worsen until about 2 or 3 weeks after he's finished with the radiation, and then he will start to improve. It's frustrating, but tell him to hang in there. He'll get better, just not quite as soon as he wants to.

Best wishes,

Mike

Thanks for your support. It's so hard to watch him suffer and not be able to do anything to help. It just seems like he got so much worse with his pain and his attitude this past week. I will tell him about your suggestions. You and your SO must be thrilled that he's almost done. Good luck to him. Carol

I'm glad to hear his voice will return eventually and that other people experienced the same effect. I know the doctor's say that it is normal, but it's easier to accept when someone who went through it tells you. Thanks for your good wishes, Carol

Sorry, I seemed to be having trouble following the format as to how to respond to a message. See my note concerning a humidifier --under Loss Voice.

DeniseB

My husband lost his voice toward the end of treatment, too. About three weeks after he was fine and a couple months after treatment his voice was pretty much back.

Everything he and you are experiencing are normal and we all go through it. My last radiatian was February 25th and I'm almost 100% back except still can't taste as well as I'd like and the dry mouth is still an annoyance.

Both of you just hang in there.

God bless.

Rick

Hi All, I finished up my radiation and chemo at the end of Feb. 2008. My voice , although weak, came back for about 6 weaks and then at the beginning of May it became a low raspy whisper. Very frustrating! Ive been scoped and scanned - no sign of cancer Whew! I'm told that my voice will gradually return - until then???? I am a teacher and I am very anvious about returning to work with my voice like this. Anyone else experience this?  Sheila

I am 8 months post treatment for cancer of left tonsil.  Mike was totally accurate in his assessment.  A surprise to me was that the effects of radiation continued to worsen for a few weeks after radiation was complete.  I also had a period that I was only able to whisper and could barely talk on the telephone.  My husband travels w/ his work and there were times I could only manage 3 or 4 words in response when he called home to check on me.  Today - while I am able to talk - my voice quality has changed.  It is lower and raspier.  At times, It feels as if my tongue is thicker and there are even times people have a problem understanding me.  I don't think eating will ever be the same for me as it was before radiation and I'm beginning to think that my voice will always bear some effects of the radiation.  I guess it is a small price to pay to get the clean scan I received in late Dec.  The most frustrating thing for me at this point is my total lack of energy.  Any little thing I do just wipes me out.   

I found that Stomatitis Cocktail - a mixture of Benadryl and Lidocaine - helped tremendously w/ sore throat and mouth.