For about 1year and a half I experienced an odd taste in my mouth and no one could come up an answer, in DEC I had a swollen tonsil and lymph node.... and I'm now getting geared up for 7 weeks of Rad and three days of Chemo..At the same time I'm getting married and moving the restaurant,I dont know yet what stage I'm at but was told earlier than most...I am a professional cook and would if possible preserve my salivary glands... Any suggestions from anyone? Thanks and the wishing the Best Intentions for everyone. Tom Roussell

Tom, it sounds like you got it early, which is wonderful. About saliva, IMRT radiation will do the best job of sparing your parotid glands. If you get conventional XRT, the drug amifostine, given before each treatment as an injection to the abdomen (yeah, I know that makes you cringe, me too, but people here have done it), has some success in protecting those glands. The best bet to do that, however, is IMRT. You will want to inquire of your doctors what exactly is planned for you. Welcome to this forum. I arrived here at about the same point you are now, and the information and encouragement I received here was priceless, and enabled me to get through treatment fully informed. Ask anything at all, and it is a sure thing that someone here will have had experience and can answer. Those of us on the other end of treatment are anxious to help.

Greeting's Tom,

I wish you nothing but the best in your treatment. If you read some of the older post's you will learn just about everything you need to know. Every person reacts differentely to the same treatment.
I han IMRT radiation and still have saliva. IMRT is not for everybody and only your Doctors can tell you what type is best for your case.
As Joanna has said, Ask any question you can think of about your diaease and usually someone has experienced it. You have found a website that has a very loyal following and we support each other all the time. It is a forum like no other.

I wish you the best as you enter your treatment phase.

Dan Bogan

Hi Tom....

I had IMRT (48 treatments, 2 a day) and had amifostine each morning before my session. My amifostine was injected through my pic line that was also used for chemo. I never totally lost my saliva. I had more in the front of my mouth than the back but it never was a big problem. I tolerated the amifostine pretty well but some do have more problems with it. Like the others said, ask your doctor and I wish you the best.