Mucus

Did anyone of you with mucositis receive Ethyol therapy during radiation? According to the oncology center where my husband is going to receive his treatments this is suppose to help prevent damage to the glands that create this mucus and saliva. We already have difficulty with thick mucus and my husband uses the Robitussin. He used to use citrus juices to break the mucus up but now that burns too much. We try to make sure he is getting between 2-3 liters of fluid a day to prevent dehydration. With taking mostly liquid forms of nutrition we have had to add Benefiber to keep things regular. Hope everything is going well for everybody else. Husband has had a rough time since his gastrostomy tube was placed due to the trauma to his throat wnen they tried to intubate him. They ended up having to give him a spinal anesthetic and an open incision to put the feeding tube into his stomach.
This has delayed the start of his radiation and chemo, which will now start next week.

Hello - My name is Jean and I received Ethyol which I believe is also called Amifostine before radiation treatment last year. It did not help with the mucus as much as protect the salivary glands & I do not have as severe dry mouth as some others I have talked with. I had a severe mucus problem & had to have a pump for a while to clear it out. I now have only occasional mucus which is easily spit out. I also still have a feeding tube. I hope everything is going well with your husband. This is an awful disease - very different from other types of cancer - the treatment takes a toll on the person receiving the treatment & the caregiver. Since you posted on Sept. 9th I am assuming the treatment is ended for him. It just takes a lot of time to heal. My best to you both for a complete recovery.

Thanks, Jean. No my husband is still receiving treatment. However he is currently on a vacation from radiation due to severe radiation burns. We finally got a suction machine to help with the mucus but unfortunately he has developed a respiratory infection and is receiving antibiotics. Hopefully we will overcome the infection before his next chemo cycle in 3 weeks. We go back on Wednesday and if the burns have started to heal then we will resume the radiation. He has 10-12 more sessions left to complete his course. I thank God for the feeding tube. He would be dead without it; as even with the tube he as lost a total of 35 pounds.