Hi, As you may be aware, my husband John had the modified radical neck dissection done on Feb. 6th. The surgeon performed an "esophageal dilation" as well at the time to help him to eat better and more variety of foods. It seems to have helped to some degree - he can drink orange juice and even coffee without it burning - but yet certain foods that I would assume would not be a problem (such as french toast) still burn. He also has a chronic sore throat (and those darn persistant mouth sores) that seem to be adding to the problem. My question is: Is it common to have a sore throat that seems to be lasting awhile after a procedure like this - or do you think it is still the after-effects of the radiation treatment? Swallowing is better for the most part - but I think John and I expected more after this procedure. Also, John has ben home from the hospital since Feb 10th with the drainage tubes still in his chest wall. It's still draining and the fluids have not run "clear" yet. Does anyone know on average how long this can take? He's not allowed to go swimming or even to shower with that in place - and he's getting quite restless and wants that thing out already! Thanks.

hi DonnaJean,

after rad/chemo my mouth sores lasted 3 or 4 months, slowly improving.

cu,
larryb

Hi Donnajean,

Can't answer all the questions , but I still have a sore throat most days. Especially in the evenings..and the dry heat of winter doesn't help. If you haven't already you might want to think about a humidifier.
I still have trouble with juices, spices and such. The french toast could have been more of a scratchiness than a sore throat. There are things that still rub and irritate my throat. It gets hard to describe as a patient, so it's easier just to say sore throat. I found myself taking the short version sometimes when describing things to my husband.
Hopefully, someone can answer the drain question. They took mine out on the 3rd day.

Take care,
Dinah

My Rad treatment ended late Nov 2002. For about 6 weeks after the radiation, I cannot eat any real food because of the painful throat. I had 20 hyerbaric oxygen treatments last month, then I could eat anything I want now, however, it did not completely eliminate the "sore throat" feeling I had, especially in the evening, it would wake me up and it is more painful than that is in the day time.

Also, if I did not dringk water for more than 30 minutes, I start to feel this "sore throat" too.

Donnajean,
I am certain that the problem is the radiation not the espheageal dilation. I had my esophagus dilated a couple of weeks ago and I have no side effects whatsoever from the procedure. I go back in a couple of weeks to have it dilated again.
My throat does still get a little sore, however, 5 months after the end of radiation.
Best of luck,
Danny G.

Danny,

Did I miss it? Have you shared with us? What are you eating??? And if you are eating, what was your greatest pleasure?

Dinah

Hi. Thanks for the info. The mouth sores are very bothersome, and they just don't want to go away! I know John would feel a whole lot better if they would disappear - so hopefully soon. The sore throat seems to be more pronounced in the morning hours - and I think what aggravates that is that John is a snorer and has sleep apnea, so when he awakens, his throat really feels terrible. It sometimes lasts all day like that, but there are some days he doesn't complain too much about it. So I'm still not sure if it's due to the radaition or what. His drainage tubes are still draining as mentioned - nothing much has changed on that as of today. He is to make a follow-up appointment with the doc this week, so hopefully he can either take that out (and the stitches too) or let us know how much longer he has to keep that in. He also mentioned that there is some shoulder soreness and stiffness - which I'm sure has to do with the surgery. He loves to do "aquatherapy" in the pool - so the sooner he can get those tubes out - the sooner he can get back to doing his therapy exercises. Also - the swelling in his neck/side of face is starting to be more pronounced (lymphadema) - but not terribly swollen so far. So perhaps this may have something to do with the sore throat problem as well.

Hello, even though I didn't receive surgery, I experience shoulder and neck stiffness even a whole year post treatment. Some physical exercise like moving the neck sideways/up & down several times a day may help prevent it from getting worse. I still have ulcers on my mouth but the pain is negligible and the fact that I am diabetic may also slow down healing from the sore.So be patient!

Karen, stage 4 tonsil cancer diagnosed in 9/01

Dinah,
I am still experimenting with eating. I have eaten diced peaches, rice krispies, pasta with plain marinara, chicken noodle soup, a little fish,and even tried, not too successfully, cheese enchiladas and frijoles. It is a slow process.And, although I can taste food, it does not taste as good as it used to. However, I am happy that I am making progress and look forward to one day getting rid of the PEG.

Karen,
You are the first person other than me who has talked about shoulder pain. It hurts when I reach out or up with my right arm and I have a little pain from time to time in both shoulders. When I asked the various doctors about it, they say that they are unfamiliar with this side effect. However, it seems logical to me that the way that radiation spreads ( after all it affected my esophagus ) that it could affect shoulder joints.

Danny G.

Danny and Karen:
I also have experienced some shoulder and upper arm discomfort. Had talked with my Rad Oncologist who wasn't sure why, but he also had said he has never had a patient with the tingling feeling when you lower your head. He thought maybe it might have something to do with that. I have noticed that as the tingling feeling has started to decrease so has the upper arm or shoulder discomfort. Or maybe just because I'm over 50?????

Karen I haven't forgotten about web site addresses I've just been busy this week end digging out from the 20" of snow and sleet or freezing rain we had. About 80% of our roads where we live were impassable. I will get them to you soon.

Mike D.

Diagnosed 06/2002, w/Laryngeal cancer, 1st stage