Hi,

My Dad's voice; sore throat and coughing phlegm seemed to clear up a few weeks after treatment finished. Then he got a sore throat (think it was the AC); a froggy voice and a bit of phlegm again. Well the sore throat cleared up; but he stil has the froggy voice and doing the throat clearing all the time again. It's been 12 weeks since treatment finished.

Anyone have this too? The froggy voice?

Thanks

Lisa,
most of us actually lost our voice for a week or more post Tx. A humidifier might help. I still use one to this day. AC will strip the moisture out of the air faster than turning the heat on.

Hi Gary;

yes he used a humidifier during treatment and it sure helped.

That's good to know about the AC. He pretty much keeps it off; but we had a heat wave so they had to put it back on for a bit (boy was their house hot ha).

His voice was bad during and after treatment; 'then it cleared up'. Now it's back to being froggy and has been like that for a month. Anyone else have this? your voice cleared up then went back to being hoarse raspy froggy ?

Hi Lisa,

I'm two years out. Still can't sing and voice changes constantly. Deep to hoarse. Sometimes it's better, someetimes worse. I think in time it may level out, but I don't worry about it. I guess you could call my voice "froggy". The radiation gets bvery close to the vocal cords. It takes them a long time to heal. i'm not sure mine will ever get back to the way they were, but I don't really carfe as long as I remain in remission.

Steve

Hi Lisa,
I don't know how "froggy" your Daddy's voice is. As said by others, the voice of most oral cancer patients is adversely affected after treatment, at different degrees. I lost my voice during the latter half of treatment and lasted for a month. After that it was back but not the same old voice I once had. I could take up teaching again and students had no difficulty in understanding me. I am now almost 5 years in remission, the voice is still raspy and it changes without apparent reasons. There are times when my voice is very clear but other times people think that I am suffering from a heavy cold. For friends who know me well, I need not explain to them and for those people who are not my friends, I just tell them I am having a cold. Time helps me overcome this voice problem and as long as it doesn't block my communication with others, I feel pleased. A small price we need to pay in exchange for our precious life.

Karen

Lisa,

I went for a long time after radiation having "froggy" spells with my voice. It was mostly due to dry mouth problems (I described it to people back then as feeling like I had been chewing on sawdust). If I couldn't stay hydrated enough, it would turn raspy very quickly. With more time, more healing, and the help of medication and Biotene products, I have fewer problems with it. For the past 14 years, I've been able to go back to singing in choirs on a regular basis, which has been a real plus.

Cathy