#26409 05-18-2004 07:42 AM | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 116 Gold Member (100+ posts) | OP  Gold Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 116 | I am 2 mos out of radiation to the neck and tonsils and I have a deep raspy voice in the morning and by the afternoon it returns to normal. Has anyone experienced this or heard of what may be causing it? This started about 6 weeks after radiation.
SCC R-Tonsil T2 NO MO Dec 2003. Completed IMRT Radiation only to tonsils(72Gy) and neck(55Gy)March 04. Detected at age 50.
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#26410 05-18-2004 08:18 AM | | Anonymous Unregistered | | Anonymous Unregistered
| Hi John,
You must be experiencing the "sexy voice syndrum" (grin) I'm sure there are very good reasons for this happening, such as my throat feeling clogged up in the mornings. I know my voice is different now than it was before radiation. (2 years)
Just wanted you to know you weren't alone in the voice change.
Take care,
Dinah | | |
#26411 05-18-2004 08:32 AM | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 162 Gold Member (100+ posts) | | Gold Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 162 | Hi John. My voice changed too. I'm almost six months out now and it varies. Starting from the same point you did (6 wks out) it changed and for a while it was consistently deeper and then I thought it was going to change back to normal, but now some days it's normal, other days it's deeper than normal. One of the many wonderous after affects of raditaion to the neck.
-Brett
Base of Tongue SCC. Stage IV, T1N2bM0. Diagnosed 25 July 2003.
Treated with 6 weeks induction chemo -- Taxol & Carboplatin once a week followed with 30 fractions IMRT, 10 fields per fraction over 6 more weeks. Recurrence October 2005.
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#26412 05-18-2004 08:42 AM | Joined: Mar 2004 Posts: 164 Gold Member (100+ posts) | | Gold Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2004 Posts: 164 | You've heard it before, radiation is the gift that keeps on giving.
Do you sound like Joe Cocker or Rod Stewart?
Lynn
Stage 3, N0, M0 oral tongue cancer survivor, 85-90% of tongue removed, neck disection, left tonsil removed, chemo/radiation treatments, surgery 11/03, raditation ended 1/04, lung mets discovered 4/04,
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#26413 05-18-2004 09:26 AM | Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | It'll get better - be patient. I am almost normal now at 14 months post Tx. At 2 months there were times I could barely talk (especially in the morning).
I sounded more like Froggy - as in "pluck your magic twanger" (now I'm really dating myself).
I'm singing in a band again though, which I never, ever thought I would be able to do again. My voice is a little deeper - I had to adjust some of the keys. It just takes a long time...
Gary Allsebrook
***********************************
Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2
Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy)
________________________________________________________
"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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#26414 05-18-2004 02:11 PM | Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 541 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 541 | Hi John, based on the relatively light treatment you received, I am sure your raspy voice will improve gradually.No guarantee whether it can be 100% back to normal. Ask your doctor to confirm that the radiation did not hit your vocal cord. For tonsil cancer, I think our voice is protected. My hoarseness is mainly due to absence of saliva. The voice is generally deeper than before and I can't tell when it is raspy and when it is clear during the day. It varies a lot but does not affect my teaching as long as I have water, hard candies or chewing gum.
Karen.
Karen stage 4B (T3N3M0)tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/2001.Concurrent chemo-radiation treatment ( XRT x 48 /Cisplatin x 4) ended in 12/01. Have been in remission ever since.
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#26415 05-18-2004 04:08 PM | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 372 "Above & Beyond" Member (300+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (300+ posts)
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 372 | Dan's voice is different, some raspy. He has more trouble having to think thru words or repeat because he has trouble with some letters, especiallly b's and d's. His orginally came from the tongue surgery, but was so much better. Then after his voice came back weeks after radiation he feels like it's the same problem as right after tongue surgery. He had very heavy rad to 4 sites and chemo...might be why the trouble with some syllables came back. Hopefully, with time it will get better. Sometimes it sounds like he has a bad head cold...just varies.
Take care,
Debbie
Debbie - Caregiver for husband, Dan, diagnosed with tongue cancer 7/03. Partial gloss., mod. neck dissections, graft. Recurrence neck tumor 12/03. Radical left neck dissection 12/24/03-unable to get all the tumor. 8 weeks chemo/rad beginning 1/12/04.
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#26416 05-18-2004 04:49 PM | Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,384 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,384 Likes: 1 | Hi John, My voice is lower and raspier in the morning too. In addition, I can sing at least 4 notes lower than I could before treatments. This has been great because I can really sing the base parts in church choir. The fact that I can sing at all is something I am thankful for. I understand some that go through radiation cannot. I feel that singing is theraputic, as it excercises many different parts of the throat. Hey Gary are we going to have an "all OCF band" at the reunion? 
Mark, 21 Year survivor, SCC right tonsil, 3 nodes positive, one with extra-capsular spread. I never asked what stage (would have scared me anyway) Right side tonsillectomy, radical neck dissection right side, maximum radiation to both sides, no chemo, no PEG, age 40 when diagnosed.
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#26417 05-19-2004 07:23 AM | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,606 Likes: 2 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,606 Likes: 2 | "Can't take it by the shape I'm in, can't sing, aint prettty and my legs are thin..." -Fleetwood Mac
...but I can hit a few licks on the harp. I might need a little help from my friends, like what key are you playing in but I am game!
Ed
SCC Stage IV, BOT, T2N2bM0
Cisplatin/5FU x 3, 40 days radiation
Diagnosis 07/21/03 tx completed 10/08/03
Post Radiation Lower Motor Neuron Syndrome 3/08.
Cervical Spinal Stenosis 01/11
Cervical Myelitis 09/12
Thoracic Paraplegia 10/12
Dysautonomia 11/12
Hospice care 09/12-01/13.
COPD 01/14
Intermittent CHF 6/15
Feeding tube NPO 03/16
VFI 12/2016
ORN 12/2017
Cardiac Event 06/2018
Bilateral VFI 01/2021
Thoracotomy Bilobectomy 01/2022
Bilateral VFI 05/2022
Total Laryngectomy 01/2023
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#26418 05-19-2004 01:14 PM | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 4,912 Likes: 52 OCF Founder Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | OCF Founder Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 4,912 Likes: 52 | I can't help about the shape I'm in,
I can't sing, I ain't pretty, and my legs are thin.
But don't ask me what I think of you,
I might not give the answer that you want me to
Oh well
Now, when I talked to God I knew he'd understand,
He said, Stick by my side and I'll be your guiding hand
But don't ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to..... Oh well
Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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#26419 05-20-2004 10:06 AM | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,606 Likes: 2 Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,606 Likes: 2 | Thanks for the exact words, Brian. I was a little uneasy about the ..."don't ask me what I think of you"...part in my quest for political correctness. I really love that song and I take it you do, too. Music at it't finest!
Ed
SCC Stage IV, BOT, T2N2bM0
Cisplatin/5FU x 3, 40 days radiation
Diagnosis 07/21/03 tx completed 10/08/03
Post Radiation Lower Motor Neuron Syndrome 3/08.
Cervical Spinal Stenosis 01/11
Cervical Myelitis 09/12
Thoracic Paraplegia 10/12
Dysautonomia 11/12
Hospice care 09/12-01/13.
COPD 01/14
Intermittent CHF 6/15
Feeding tube NPO 03/16
VFI 12/2016
ORN 12/2017
Cardiac Event 06/2018
Bilateral VFI 01/2021
Thoracotomy Bilobectomy 01/2022
Bilateral VFI 05/2022
Total Laryngectomy 01/2023
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#26420 05-20-2004 10:26 AM | Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 156 Gold Member (100+ posts) | | Gold Member (100+ posts)
Joined: Apr 2004 Posts: 156 | Same here with Fleetwood Mac. I may be young, but they're my FAVORITE.
My voice has been raspy since last week. I didn't notice a pattern, other than it worked itself out throughout the day. Thanks for the head's up that it might continue.
If I haven't already said it a MILLION times, I am really, really, really grateful to have found this board. Finding others with similar side effects has been instrumental in keeping my sanity, and knowing it's not just in my head.
Sabrina | | |
#26421 05-20-2004 03:28 PM | Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,384 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,384 Likes: 1 | I'm over my head ....and it sure feels fine.. repeat 
Mark, 21 Year survivor, SCC right tonsil, 3 nodes positive, one with extra-capsular spread. I never asked what stage (would have scared me anyway) Right side tonsillectomy, radical neck dissection right side, maximum radiation to both sides, no chemo, no PEG, age 40 when diagnosed.
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