I'd like to see if anyone can offer any advice or suggestions. My husband has been finished with his radiation and chemo 5 weeks today. He sometimes bites his tongue, especially while asleep, due to numbness and nerve loss on the right side. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, can you recommend anything to alleviate or help the problem? He also complains of his tongue being swollen, or at least feeling swollen, and we're not sure if this is from the biting issue, post-treatment side effects, or what.

Also, he says that his throat and mouth are still really sore and hurt. He says that one sip of water will go down fairly well, but by the second sip the phlegm is washed away and it burns. He does have the magic mouthwash, but it gets washed away too. Any ideas here? Should he be pushing himself to eat, or just wait until the pain improves?

Thanks so much for any insight you can give us!


Caregiver to husband (age 52 at time of diagnosis)
Diagnosed with SCC right orapharynx in Aug. 2007 Stage T3N2bMx 9 of 57 nodes involved
Radical right neck dissection 9-24-07
35 IMRT & 7 chemo treatments
PEG tube still used for feedings
Finished all treatments on 12-10-07