Hi,I finished my radiation and chemo June 22nd and everything was fine, I have a stomach tube for nutrition. I just got my sense of smell back but have not gotten any taste back. It's difficult to speak clearly and my throat is extremely hoarse, does anyone have a solution for the hoarseness? I'm also experiencing ear pain leading down to my throat and it's also painful to swallow my saliva and drink water (that's all I do by mouth, any solutions?

Welcome to OCF! When trying to recover after radiation for the head and neck areas, it can be a frustrating time. We can never recover as fast as we want our bodies to.

If you take some time and read thru posts (and also on the main OCF site) you will find tons of info pertaining to your situation. At 3 months post rads, you have made significant progress in your recovery. To me, it sounds like you have been doing pretty good.

The sense of taste is a tricky one! Most patients will wake up one day and out of the blue they can actually taste something again. It might not taste like it should but at least there is some type of flavor instead of the usual dry, burnt cardboard. Thats first (and often fleeting) glimpse of regaining your sense of taste. Just as quickly as it appeared, it can disappear too. You will notice major fluctuations in how things taste thru about the first 6 months post rads. After that its slower progress. Some patients have even noticed improvements 2 years after finishing rads. This is a great example of why we always say "everybodys different". I can go on and on with general info but everything I pass along may be slightly different for each patient.

The best thing I can tell you is to focus on your intake. I know its not easy but thats what will rebuild your body. Adding high protein whey powder to your diet can help speed up healing. Check with your doc if this is ok. As far as intake goes, every day OC patients need at least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water. If you are able to push yourself some days to take more in like 3000 or even 3500 calories it will only help you to bounce back quicker. While you may not see the major improvements you seek, they really will happen. Unfortunately it takes time, much more time than most patients have patience for.

As far as your pain goes, go get checked by your ENT. Many recovering patients have their throats so sore it feels like they're swallowing razor blades when they take a sip of water. I remember my throat hurt so bad and it even affected my voice. I lost my voice for about 3 weeks. It did return but like everything else, it took time.

Hang in there!!! I know its not easy, not easy at all but the worst of this is already behind you.

Thank you for the encouragement it really helps, this is definitely all new to me and my ENT is the only one in our area and his response to questions I had was "you should really join a Head and Neck Cancer group because they will help"... seriously, this is the answer you're giving me, I was so annoyed I didn't say anything. I have another appt. with him 9/28 and I hope he's ready because I'm not leaving until I get some answers. All of my teeth were taken out, and the top denture that was made makes it even more difficult to swallow so I never have the teeth in unless I'm leaving my house. The bottom the doctor can't even get to stay because of all the stuff that was removed, no biggie. Hopefully the radiating pain coming from my ear down my jawline will subside if not I'm definitely taking something for the pain because it's getting intense.

I am so glad you found this site. I would love to see all doctors suggest this group. However, it sure would have been nice if he had of answered your questions during the visit. Good to know you are prepared and going in with your list at the next visit. I know the ear pain can be horrible along with the swallowing issues. I still have a feeding tube in place. You probably don't feel hungry but Christine is so right about keeping nutrition and water intake up. Please let us know how you are doing.