When you take rads and chemo, could those treatments cause your tongue to get very pale looking? Thank you, Angel

Angel,

My tongue got incredibly red during treatment, but I'm sure there's a whole range of changes that could happen.

- Margaret

Angel, yes my tongue looked a lighter shade than usual. Ive also read sometimes people get something called 'black tongue' too where it turns black.

Christine,
Today I saw the ENT and he said I have thrash in my mouth due to radiation and chemo, so all else is fine. I am glad, He ordered me 2 medications to clear it up. Thanks, Angel

Its called thrush and that stinks!!!!!

I just got over having thrush, Ive had it several times. This time was the worst one, it was down into my throat. Sometimes it can be very painful. Now you know what it is, always watch out for that.

Hope you feel better soon.

Christine, That was funny. lol I can't smell anything but I take you for your word. I had no idea I had something like that. How long will it take to clear up? Thanks, Angel

Thats too funny, didnt mean it stink like PEE---YEW!!!! LOL

I got put on these lozenges, 5 per day for 2 weeks. There are many other meds out there which are faster. Its just one of what I call the "little lovlies" which go along with OC.

Speaking of smelling, one of the positive side effect from OC for me was I now have what I call "the super smeller". My sense of smell is twice what it was pre-cancer, which is too odd. Especially since my sinuses are completely shot.

Now you know what thrush is. Just watch out for it, you may get it from time to time. I am over 1 year from finishing chemo and rad for my 1st round of OC and 6 months past my 2nd round and I got it. If you get it again you can identify it and get the meds to get rid of it.

That is great about the increase in your ability to smell. I can't smell anything hardly so when you told me it stinks I thought lord who I may have offended. lol They say children get thrush sometimes but my son never had anything like that when he was a baby. I was just lucky I guess. I am sorry you have had this several times and that it is one of those little lovlies that goes along with OC, so, are there any more I should know about? (Just trying to keep ahead of the game if possible) lol Angel

Sorry for the confusion. Thrush is pretty a pretty common mouth infrection for OC patients. Dont really know if it smells or not, sure hope it doesnt.

My tongue turned black and itched. Dr did a biopsy and said thrush here too. He told me to brush my tongue, gums and anywhare else I could reach. Brushed with Biotene tooth paste and it still will get black over nite. Just gotta keep brushing and thngs are fine.. Have a great day all.

Christine,
I am 8 months out of treatment and I just got thrush! You are right it can be painful. I had thrush while in treatment also. Currently, I am taking diflucon 100 mg once a day. Seems to be helping. I still have it though, but not as bad. I still have 5 more pills left to take. Are we prone to thrush mouth? Is that because the mouth is dry? I was just wondering because when I got thrush this last time I was very scared that something else was going on. Take care.

Debbie, Christine, Angel, and the rest,

Just thought I'd weigh in here with some hope. I had thrush only once and that was during treatment. I'm 2 years out now with a VERY dry mouth, and still no thrush, so I don't know about how much more likely we are to get it, but at least know it's not a "given" that you're doomed to a lifetime of it.

Lani

Christine,
I had the same increase in my sense of smell a few months after radiation. It was wodnerful. Everything smelled so fresh and clean that spring. Food smelled marvelous, and even though there were and still many things I couldn't eat, it certainly helped my ability to eat and probably helped my taste recover.

As to thrush, one is likely to get a flare up every time you take an antibiotic. I use to take Diflucan with the antibiotic to prevent it. Thrush feeds on sugars. A dentist told me to avoid eating anything white because of the sugar in the carbohydrates. It affects your taste, brushing your tongue lightly with a soft tooth brush helps. It's also a bitch to get rid of. One of the many joys of having radiation.

Take care,
Eileen

Not having had the problem, I hadn't looked into thrush until now. I was just looking around on some sites and learned a lot about it. I'm sure this site probably has a ton of info on it, but I'm sure you all already looked there, and I'm stuck inside today with not much to do anyway in this bone-chilling 60 degree weather.

Though we are at very high risk during and right after treatment, it seems the risk lessens as our immune systems recover. Many OC survivors suffer from problems with malnutrition which contributes to rhe risk. The mouth dryness is a factor, too. Maybe Biotene products can help there. Sugar, as Eileen mentioned, feeds the yeasy fungus, as do breads and other carbohydrates. And antibiotics kill the bacteria, etc, that keep it under control, so taking something to counteract that with them makes sense.

The sites I saw all recommended uncultured yogurt (yech), so if you can stomach it....

There's a lot more that I'm sure I'm forgetting in this post - I blame my rad/chemo brain memory - but that's a lot of it. It did say that HIV and cancer patients have the danger of it spreading down the esophogus and hitting organs, like the kidneys and liver, so treating it quickly when it does rear its ugly head would be very important.

Hope this helps some.

Lani

Angel, very typical for your tongue to be anything but pink where you're at in treatement and it will take a while thereafter to recover. Radiation kills the taste buds which I believe are located on the top surface of the tongue. I got thrush a few months after tx and it was pretty nasty. Had to go back to magic mouth wash and an antibiotic to clear. Hang in there.

I never had to deal with thrush and I'm over 2 years out.

Nor I, at more than 2.75 years out.

I had one bout with it post surgery. It was painful but I attributed the discomfort to losing a hunk of tongue. Went in for my first follow up and got nystatin and was cleared up in a day or two and so was the pain. Never could understand why a yeast infection hurt but what's life without a little mystery. 18 months later no more thrush incidences and I've had the joy of being on antibiotics once or twice in that time without bringing it back. My guess is like everything else we all react a little differently.

Susan

Thank you all for the information. I gotta tell you, this stuff is yucky and the sides of my mouth burn like crazy and I haven't been able to use my flouride due to the burning.

The Dr. gave me 2 prescriptions, Nystatin (swish and swallow), and Flyconazole (pills). I do believe the nistatin makes me have nausea bad and I am still waiting for one of my nausea pills to get pre approved. But I have been luck and have not thrown up, just get sick at my stomach. Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow.

Btw, I have been driving myself to radiation lately. Angel

I drove myself to radiation (Forty miles) until the very last few when a friend insisted that he drive me, so I acquiesced -- I've learned that it's good for the other people if they can assist in some way, however small (Hard for me to do because I am sometimes a very stubborn and independent cuss...).

Angel

Do you have someone lined up to drive you? If not, you can contact the American Cance Society, they may help. I had a driver a few times which was a huge help. I live about 35/40 miles from the facility where I was treated. As you continue thru tx, things will get worse so please try to line up some help now.

Please be very very careful drving. Your reaction time might not be what it should be and what happens if you get sick? For me, I stopped driving during my first week of tx. I was lightheaded, nauseous and weak. It was much too far for me to take that kind of risk let alone the other drivers on the road.

Sure dont know how you did it Pete.

Pete, That is so good about your driving. And you are right about people who want to help. It is good to have people in your life like that. I have been going through weird stages and every little knot that comes up scares me to death. I was proud of myself for driving and it really felt good. Angel

I had noone to drive me so I did all of my driving for rads & chemo and all of them since after the implants. I get someone if I am going to be put to sleep for sure. Just lucky I guess.

Jim, Do you think it makes you stronger if you are able to drive yourself and do more of daily things for yourself? I noticed an almost high when I got in my van and drove myself. I don't like being dependent on anyone as it makes me feel weak. I have always been a strong woman so I intend on pulling away and doing my own thing as long as I can. I am glad you had strength and stamina to be able to do that. Does your wife or children drive? My son has took off his job when I was in the hospital some but he works 2 jobs so it is hard for him to help me. I have an appt with Cancer navigators on Monday to try and help me to pay some of these bills I am incuring for my treatment. Angel

Personally, I don't think the driving builds the strength, but the other way around -- Some of us are just physically and mentally more strong when it comes to stuf like this -- And sometimes circumstances don't offer much in the way of choices.

Angel

Hows the thrush? Hope you are feeling better.

Hope yor thrush is better. I got thrush again today. It moves so fast when you get it, by the time I realized what it was I could barely swallow. Luckily my ENT was the doc on call this weekend so he called me in a prescription for the lozenges 5 a day for 2 weeks.

Just wanted to let you know what to watch out, it can come back and it moves pretty fast when it does.