Hi everyone, this is my first post but I've been reading for about a month. What a great place this is!

My ex-husband just finished his second week of radiation and has one bag of cisplatin done. He seems to be holding up pretty well but the loss of taste and sore throat are starting to hit. Today he complained of feeling like there's something in his throat he can't quite get down. Could that be a radiation side effect?

Are there any ways to gauge how well the treatment is working while it's happening, or are the post-tx scans the main way?

Thanks.

Nell

Welcome to OCF!

He could be experiencing some swelling from the treatment or even one of the medications. As with any symptoms, always inform the doctor. If this is in the case of swelling of his throat that is something that could need medical attention right away.

The RO (radiation oncologist) should be looking at images that are taken during treatment to view the tumor. It should be shrinking as treatments progress.

Best wishes!!!

What day is your weekly visit with the RO? Are your husbands symptoms (in his estimation) causing him enough discomfort that you need to inform the RO at your next daily treatment? Have you looked down his throat with a flashlight; can you see anything?
If you can see anything then maybe a daily look with the flashlight to see if it's growing is in order.

When I've needed to keep track of something to see if it's growing a daily picture with a digital camera, shot from the same distance can do a good job of showing changes.

Tony

Chances are this is normal. The throat tightens with radiation (damage and fibrosis to the muscle) swelling and redness are all very normal.

best of luck

Thanks everyone. The caregiving situation is a little tricky--we're friendly but separated, he doesn't have anyone looking after him and is very resistant to accepting help. I encouraged him to tell the RO every symptom so hopefully they're on top of it.

Just finished week 3 of rads, with chemo #2 coming on Monday. Really suffering with mouth sores and getting the PEG this week.

Thanks again. This group is invaluable!

Nell

I know for myself (finishing my last of 33 rad on Monday), I've felt like I have something caught in my throat for the last two or three weeks and nothing, no water, tea, food, etc. can seem to push it down. My guess is it's a manifestation of general swelling - I've discussed it with my rad oncologist and my speech therapist and both seem to think this is nothing to worry about.

That said, my situation and your husband's are likely radically different - if the problem persists and worries your husband, have him consult his oncologist. Mine is just an unpleasant aide effect, hopefully his is something similar.

Good luck and safe journey!

The Hellion

Nell,
He'll become less "resistant" for help as treatment drags on. The mouth sores are just beginning and then there's the side effects from the radiation, which occur later in treatment for most people. Cisplatin is pretty brutal, old school, but effective chemotherapy. The docs wouldn't allow me to do the third one because I was so sick.

I had a peg put in a month ago - the lidocaine shots were the worst - tell him to ask the docs if he could be put under before the shots (they gave me 6 of them). Knowing what I know now, I would have had a peg put in when I was in treatment.

I am on week 5 of radiation and chemo for tongue cancer at the base. The install of the peg tube has been a great thing for my situation. Taste and soreness on the roof and back made me upgrade my pain medicine to Oxycodone/ acetaminophene 5-323 mg tab. Two every four hours helps me sleep and eat soft fruit, mostly watermelon. By eating 4 to 5 cans of Abbott TwoCal HN a day, I have been able to only lose seven pounds over the last 5 weeks of treatment.
The main issues I have with the radiation is the skin around the neck and back. It has gotten more sore as the weeks go by. Two cremes were given and they work well, uni derm by smith@nephew and a stronger one, Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream usp 0.1% by perrigo.

Best of luck with his treatments!!!

Vernon, glad those creams are helping you. I found that the only thing did the trick for me was silver sulfadiazine. Think it's an older school med but you might ask about it just in case.

Nell, I'll be thinking of you and your husband!

Thanks, David2.

The latest here is that Chris has been in the hospital since Thursday with low sodium. They've been restricting fluids and giving him salt tablets, but he's still wasting sodium and his numbers went up a little but came back down. Haven't decided whether to give him his last cisplatin tomorrow or when to resume rads.

Anyone else go through this? They're saying it's not a dehydration problem but a sodium wasting problem.

Also they're talking about switching him to ketamine since opioids aren't really staying on top of his pain.

My skin held up pretty well considering and I used Aquaphor when the redness appeared.