Hi Suzy:
I wrote a long reply earlier, and for some reason it didn't go through. Anyway, hope this does. I see a lot of others have replied with good replies, so that's good. What you are experiencing is probably what all of us have experienced. I had my tonsils removed and after they found squamous-cell cancer underneath right one (Nov 2007), and spreading to other side in some nodes, I had 7 weeks of radiation and chemo. I ended up not being able to swallow and had a feeding tube for almost a year. Afterwards, I was slowly able to eat soft foods and anything with gravy on it. I still (after almost 3 years) have trouble swallowing and have the feeling you defined as something stuck in my throat all the time. Just yesterday, I went to Nashville, TN, Vanderbilt Hospital and had a specialist do a swallow test. It seems my muscles in the back of my throat at the end of my tongue are weak and my food just sits there unless I can drink something to wash it down and swallow HARD. All they recommended was tongue exercises, which I'll send you if you like. When reading other posts on the OCF, you'll see that some get over the trouble of swallowing sooner than others, so I hope you'll be one of the ones who does. As for me, after almost 3 years, I seem to be almost as bad as I was at the beginning, except I can get by without a feeding tube. I do supplement my food intake with a couple of cans of Carnation VHC Instant drink (it has 560 calories per can. Here in the States you can usually order it from a CVS Drug Store, but you can also get it on the Internet. Again, I hope you recover fast and all the other responders to your post have excellent suggestions and you get a chance to see you are not alone. Keep in touch.
julieann


Julieann
Nov 2007 SCC on right tonsil following tonsillectomy. Was smoker, QUIT. (Stage IV T2 N2b) 7 weeks radiation one day/wk chemo (carboplatin and 5-FU). Allergic to Taxol; PEG in, lost 30 lbs. TX completed January 2008. PEG out mid- 2008. PET/CT 1/17/2011;2/3/12 NEGATIVE for cancer smile