Long time, no post. Not that I haven�t been reading, but I have been living life, and all is good. Except, I thought I would share some post issues, and list out what�s up lately.
In the last five years, I�ve adjusted to my new mouth/throat/neck anatomy. I went through speech therapy, as I kept getting nodules and polyps on my vocal chords. That seemed to have helped, because they haven�t happened since.

Every ENT visit, his only observation was a lot of dryness down my throat. In the front of my mouth, there is plenty of saliva, but on the backside, it�s sparse (to say the least). My tongue on the right side has also become slightly deformed. Atrophy or something like that. Only when I stick it way out can you notice. No biggie to me, as I rarely stick my tongue out at people.

Any who, about a few months ago, I started to notice that food was getting harder to swallow. I am not sure if I got back to my old habits (eat like a dog), and not fully chew my food, or use enough liquid to swallow, but I make an effort to get it right now. Swallowing pills is getting harder too, even with a lot of water. My ENT has recommended a GI to check it out. The other symptom that I get a lot is that I feel and hear liquids like they aren�t fully in my stomach. I am pretty sure these are all related, and I�ll see the GI DR (probably my esophagus has become really small) after I deal with the reason I am posting in the first place.

A little over a month ago, I caught a cold/bug, which was all upper respiratory. It seemed worse on my left side, but I figured with all the radiation and stuff, my lymph system doesn�t work like a normal one does. After a few days, I was feeling around and found a lump (2 cm), painless, and kind of hard, on the left side. It was hard to find, as you have to press through the scar tissue under my jaw, and feel through the floor of the mouth. Knowing the drill, I went and hand my PCP look at it and he confirmed my cold, and thought the sublingual gland/node was swollen. He prescribed the antibiotics, and I took them for 7 days�.. Cold gone, no change in the lump.

I then went to my ENT, who at first couldn�t find it, but then when I showed him, was stumped. Since it is on the opposite side, it would be unrelated to the original event, but it could be �anything�. He wasn�t happy about which antibiotic I had, so his prescribed a stronger one, and I am at the end of that two week cycle, with no change. We already talked about the sequence of events, which is a follow up on Friday (Oct 7), and then he�ll order the scans. Those will probably be next week. If he still can�t identify what it is, he�ll go right to taking it out, and do a biopsy. All of which I am good with. It�s nothing until it is something, right.
The reason I am optimistic is that it on the opposite side. My primary was occult, so unless something is midline, it wouldn�t be exactly related. But I do wonder if it is related from my treatments from 5 years ago (radiation). Time will tell, and I�ll update this as it happens.

My message to those people looking for post issues is be prepared for them, but don�t freak out. You�re experienced with the worst of it, and you are now familiar with the drill. Check and patrol your head, neck, and mouth for changes, and report everything to your DRs. Most of the time, it�s just your body reeling from the hell you wnt through, and settling into your new normal. And if you do discover �something� that is something, you are nipping it in the bud. There is no such thing as crying wolf when it comes to these post issues.

CHEERS
Mike