Radiation for Throat Cancer

My husband was diagnosed with tonsil cancer 8 wks ago. It was in the early stages. Treatments included 7 weeks of radiation, with 3 chemo treatments........one at the beginning of radiation, a second in the middle and the third will be in the last week. He is so sick all the time now He gags so hard from the phlem to the point he throws up every day..he has lost 20 libs and now sleeps all the time. Also, this past week his knee is causing horrible problems. He has not injured it at all, we think maybe it's another side effect of the radiation. Has anyone else had this problem????He has also had 10 heart attacks in the past and 3 by pass surgeries..But he never complains. Will this ever end??

Carol, helli, i want to say thanj you for all the gelp you gave me while mt husband was battling his cancer.. just wanted to let you know he is one year cancer free!!!!! He still has alot of eating and swallowing issues and finally stoped lossing weight he got down to 160 and stays preety close to that. He has still nit been abke to ir will probably never be abke to have teeth but thats ok. His hearing was damaged worse by the radation and is almost deaf in one ear. He speaks luke a person thats had a stroke. No feeding tube and he can enjiy life most days. Due to the removal of limpnoids he has issues with fluid build up in his neck. Also they want to take out half his thyroid due to large non cancerous lumps but so far he has said no that he has had enough surgeries. I know you probably dont get a follw up but i wanted ti say thanks. Its veen a long contuines road but it is an on going one. Thank you and God bless all that is atill with us this year
Kat

Kat,
Thank you for taking the time to catch me up on how you and your husband are doing. I seldom initiate contact with someone who stops posting here. I hope that no news is better than bad news, and I don't want to make people think about cancer if they're doing well.
It's great that he's cancer-free for a year! He was diagnosed a year before that, right? Now that the damage is done and he's recovering, it's time for the rehab. There are options besides dentures that can help him swallow and drink. If he can learn how, with a doctor's help, he can resume eating better than he is now. You didn't ask for advice, but I'm going to mention that thyroid surgery can involve less invasive procedures, smaller incisions, and faster relief of pain. I understand his reluctance to have any more procedures, but maybe he would accept the idea if he's told that it's not going away on its own, the mass will grow, it will be harder to remove, there will be more pain, and it may interfere with eating, swallowing, breathing, etc. Who provides his care, an ENT? I'd be asking if he could have a procedure done to help with swallowing. There are many kinds of dentures they can use to help him chew and eat. They can make the top one avoid the tumor site. They can use soft dentures. If I remember correctly, the health insurance company refused to pay for dentures. It's not a cosmetic thing. The doctor needs to prescribe or write an order for dental intervention and it should be paid for. Maybe he'd agree to one more medical episode, get the thyroid out and the dentures in. You can tell him you'll give him regular doses of pain medication. When it's all over, if it helps him be able to eat, buy him a lobster and a six-pack of beer and celebrate!
Regardless, THANK YOU for updating me. I need to hear good news once in awhile.
Carol

Again thanks for the advice always looking for ways to help him. I will look i to the things you brought up I have just enough medical knowlage
To question enought . Yes by the way an ENT did his surgery. But he ended moving and gave him over to another one . He did have to have nasal surgery affter the fact due to they closed his nasal pasages off with the surgery as his cancer was growing up ward. So he is stillin the learning to eat with out it cooming out his nose. And yes you are correct he was dignoised a year before so his fight is on two years. Again thank you. Carol. And good luck to all that have any health issues. Ya got to hang in there. Respect the persons wishes and thank God family and good people that help you through it. Will try to update you.

I'm Carol, a moderator here and an RN. I'm concerned that the knee pain is a blood clot. With your husband's history of MI's (myocardial infarctions which are "heart attacks"), and his immobility I think you need to get that checked out. In the meantime, if his lower leg feels cold, his skin below that knee gets bluish, or fluid in it makes that lower leg look swollen, someone needs to check for his pulse in that foot, and maybe do an X-ray to see if there's a clot. MI's are caused by clots, so he has a history of clots forming. If he becomes short of breath quickly, call 911. A clot that breaks loose can cause a stroke, an MI, or a pulmonary embolism. A PE is a medical emergency because a clot blocks the airway. Definitely let the doctor know about it!
When he coughs up phlegm and it causes vomiting, try to get him to bend down at the waist over a waste paper basket or a toilet when he's trying to cough up the phlegm. Gravity helps it move out easier and the force of coughing is less because it comes out a little easier. Also, tell him to concentrate on just getting it out and not expect to vomit. Phlegm is disgusting to me and when I had a C-section while I had severe bronchitis, it HURT to cough and it was gagging me. By accident I found that bending over helped the coughing to not be so violent and the phlegm often came out without hanging out in my mouth or throat first. I'm an RN but can't deal with that kind of stuff happening to me. LOL! There are medications to help loosen the phlegm. Mucinex is one over the counter drug. It's an expectorant. The generic name is guaifenesin. He needs to drink a lot of fluid to thin the secretions so they aren't as sticky and hard to move. Ask the doctor if he can take something to loosen the phlegm. The knee pain is the first thing the doctor needs to know about. Let me know what happens. I feel bad for you and him, I know it's scary.
Carol

Your husband and I are on exactly same treatment plan. My tonsil cancer is locally advanced with a metastasis to the neck lymph. Stage 4 technically but Dr says its curable HPV positive. I've had 20 radiations and 2 chemos so far. I pretty much use my feeding tube and can usually still swallow a couple of Ensures each day without gagging. I doubt the knee is because of treatment. The chemo put me into a constant atrial fibrillation so now am on Coumadin. I'd love to stay in touch to compare our stories.
Judy