Hi Everyone,
I just called my mom this morning and she couldn't talk. I spoke with her a couple of days ago and she was in good spirit and although quite swollen (lips and mouth), she was able to speak.
Now, she can’t speak and I found out that her doctor had put her on antibiotics for the inflammation in her mouth, and she seems very weak . She also complained a few days ago of severe drainage from her sinus and mouth area, and swollen mouth altogether. This seems to be a result of low-dose radiation that she's receiving 5 days a week, and only after 3 weeks of treatment, with a few days of interruption.

Has anyone gone through this? Taking antibiotics - Is this normal or alarming?

Many thanks in advance!!!

A bit of a background: She is supposed to receive low-dose radiation for 2 months, combined with 4 chemo-therapy sessions during this period. The radiation is supposed to be contained to only half of the palate of the mouth. The first chemo was not very well taken, and they had to interrupt the treatment and put her on glucose. She did very strict fasting the 2 months prior to her radiation and chemo therapy, so that didn't help. She's also refusing surgery.[b][/b]

Welcome to OCF! Was your mother diagnosed with oral cancer and is being treated with radiation? If so Im uncertain why she would be on antibiotics unless she had some sort of infection. Please understand our group is made up of caregivers and patients/survivors of oral cancer. We are not medical professionals, we lack years of schooling and training, we also do not know the patients background or test results. That said, its not always easy for us to comment or make suggestions but we will always do our very best to try helping as much as possible. Im going to assume your mother has oral cancer which is why she is receiving radiation treatments, so I can help answer your questions.

The link below explains radiation for oral cancer patients. At the bottom of the page click on the link for radiation side effects to learn more. Most of us who had radiation have at one point or another during our treatments experienced mouth sores (hurt like heck!!), temporarily lost our voices, had significant difficulty eating and drinking, problems swallowing and excessive thick mucous.

The most important thing to focus on during your mothers radiation treatments is her intake. Without paying careful attention to this, she can quickly become dehydrated and malnourished losing too much weight in a short time period, making her feel even worse. Every single day she should be taking in a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 - 64 oz of water. If she is unable to do this then her doctors must be made aware and a feeding tube may be in her near future. The doctor can write an open prescription for extra hydration to be given. After a couple bags of IV, she will feel much better. This can be done several times a week if the prescription is written for it.

Pain management is also important. No patient should have to suffer in pain. The doctors can prescribe pain meds to help her feel a little better. OC treatments can be brutal and the patient can be in considerable pain. Most of us took some pretty strong pain meds during rads. There is also something called magic mouthwash, its prescription to help patients with mouth sores. This will temporarily numb her mouth so she can try to eat something.

Main OCF pages-- Radiation

Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Welcome Desi! Christine is sharing great information for you! If possible I would go with your Mother and ask about the antibiotics and how treatment is progressing for her. If not, then call and try to talk or schedule a time to call back when her doctor might be available. One very important thing Christine drove home, keep her nourished and hydrated. And anything past that 2,500 calories is bonus points! As your body is fighting it is burning an extreme amount of calories so more is better right now! No questions for her medical team should be out of bounds for them to answer so ask away. Knowledge is power! Prayers and all my best.