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#1304 06-27-2003 11:31 AM
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 251
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Gold Member (200+ posts)

Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 251
Brain,
Did physical therapy help you with this "neck hardness" issue (if you had PT)? My husband is trying everything he can to try to regain motion of neck and shoulder...accupuncture, massage, and now physical therapy. We're seeing slight improvement but the ENT surgeon did say at the last check that it takes MANY months for the nerves that supply the muscles in the area to recover from surgery and radiation.

Thanks,
Anita


Husband Dx 12/02 Stage 4 Tonsil Cancer T1N2bM0; surgery, radiation, chemo 1/03 - 4/03.
#1305 06-27-2003 03:35 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,912
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Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,912
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For most people with radical necks, physical therapy helps some. I've yet to hear from anyone that said acupuncture resolved anything, and massage feels like nothing, since I've no feeling anymore on the right side of my neck. For most of us the nerves were severed at the time of the surgery, I knew it was going to happen going into it, and am OK with how things ended up. After a couple of years the sensation of a numb right side to my neck doesn't feel so unusual anymore. Range of motion is just something that you have to work on continually. While it will never be the same anymore, it's a small burden to bear to be on this side of the grass. My personal opinion is that wherever you are at the end of 2 years out from surgery is about where you are going to stay. This is based on conversations with hundreds of patients.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
#1306 07-01-2003 06:35 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
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I was just at MDACC last week and this was discussed with me at some legth. The surgeon told me that your entire muscle structure in the back of throat, tongue or wherever you were radiated.. becomes hard from the treatment. Also, lack of saliva doesn't help. But the only sure way to improve the situation is to do the exercises.. and they gave me several. I could copy it to here if anyone wants to see them. While I have a problem with the lymphs backing up and my ears swelling.. hopefully if I start doing these exercises.. it will improve. This is prefectly normal for almost all radiation patients.. I was also seen by a speech pathologist.. that was a first! But she showed me how to put my neck all the way down as far as I can on my chest to swollow.. and if that doesn't work, move your head to the left and down and swollow. That improves your ability to get pills and harder things down and to prevent choking. She also told me that the only way to get the hardening to ease up is to use that muscle so it doesn't atrophy even more. I am eight years out of radiation. I still have trouble with choking from time to time. But I discovered that if you over use your voice, on top of the atrophy in the muscles and vocal cords.. all sorts of problems arise. If you become hoarse for more than two weeks.. you need to be seen. I went a month with it and they discovered a radiation nodule.

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