What is Head and Neck cancers
Head and neck cancers are malignant growths originating in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, thyroid, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands and cervical ...
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Dad's treatment over but not getting better
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Hi - My dad is recovering from throat cancer. He was stage 4, had surgery to remove the tumor and 7 weeks of chemo and radiation. He has been done with treatment for over 3 months now, but is still having trouble eating enough, he is taking food by mouth now and is supplementing with tube feedings. He does not seem to be progressing at all. It seems like he should be starting to improve. He will have 2 or 3 ok days, then 2 or 3 days where he is vomiting all day and can't eat. Can anyone help me understand when we might start to see some progress? Even baby steps would be good.
Posted on 10/09/08, 05:10 pm |
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Its a long process, there are good days and bad days. Somedays my husband can eat anything and the next swallowing is almost impossible. Dr.s told us it could take up to a year. Has he had speech therapy yet, they have a device to help stimulate the muscles to help with swallowing. Also eat small amounts because after using a pet tube so long, the stomach cant take a lot of food at once. We also had to use acidreflux medications because of heartburn, etc. hang in there 
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Im having the same problems eating and swollowing. Its been 7 weeks since my last radiation. My doctor wants me to remove the feeding tube. any help in the area of sore throat and swollowing would be helpful tgh.
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Hi - the good news is that my dad is doing so much better. I think's he's turned a corner, so hang in there. It is such a long process. The sore throat has to improve on it's own, but his did get much better after a couple of months.
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I have to say it took me a good 2 years before I was even close to gaining back my energy and more, after treatment. ldyphoenix ssaid it right, it is a long slow process.
For me, I found that soft foods like mashed potatoes, puddings, things that are soft and different textures were good. I really loved sorbets. I think it was the coldness as well because it soothes all that irritation. It took me months before I was able to taste again, and that is part of the issue as well. It is so hard to have an appetite when you cannot taste or when you do, it tastes like chemicals!! I swear I tasted all chemicals for almost a year and still struggle today. its icky!!! I remember the first thing I could taste, and it was like almost 6 months after treatment, was root beer. Oh my gosh I couldnt get enough of it lol,, made myself sick and jittery because of all the sugar. Oh also I got sick with ensure. It was way too rich for me..so I had to take that in small doses. I do have a tip that may help, when you take pills, take them with applesauce. They go down really well and it doesnt hurt. It was the best tip I got!! I had a hard time swallowing pills for a long time, but always kept a jar on hand and it made a HUGE difference.
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