I don't come here very often anymore, but saw your post. My husband is about 11 post treatment, too. The aspiration pneumonia has become a huge issue for him...he spent 2 weeks in the hospital (after I called 911 in the middle of the night) fighting a very severe case of it. He had been treated (probably more like "undertreated" for less severe cases for many months). Even though we both were pretty certain of the cause, the hospital doctors didn't want to acknowledge that it was aspiration pneumonia until they had done HIV test, tuberculosis tests, etc. It was a swallowing test that finally convinced them of how bad his post-radiation swallowing was, causing the aspiration. He went back on the dreaded PEG tube in Sept and is still on it, though doing swallowing therapy and trying to eat by mouth again.

Hate to scare people currently going through treatment, but the aftermath of this disease (more specifically, the treatment) is brutal. But, hey, at least he is still alive.



Husband Dx 12/02 Stage 4 Tonsil Cancer T1N2bM0; surgery, radiation, chemo 1/03 - 4/03.