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.

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

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

You've heard it before, radiation is the gift that keeps on giving.

Do you sound like Joe Cocker or Rod Stewart?

Lynn

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...

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.

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

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?

"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

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

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

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

I'm over my head ....and it sure feels fine..
repeat