Hello,
I am 5 weeks into my 7 weeks of radiation and chemo for stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. Over the last few days I have developed the most horrible, relentless cough in addition to foamy mucus that I must spit out constantly. When I breathe in I can hear the mucus just sitting there. It’s disgusting, but more than that it is taking over my life. I cannot rest, can’t sleep, I can barely eat. I’m so worried if I will be able to lie still long enough for my radiation without having a coughing fit! My throat was already raw & so painful, & this is just compounding the pain. I am taking liquid hydrocodone but it doesn’t do much. I also take mucinex but it does nothing for the cough. Please, if anyone has insight or tips on how to deal with this I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks so much.

Hello AJC I had bad cough during my radiation and they gave me antibiotics and that cleared my cough but everyone is different I would ask Dr if he thinks it's infection.

Thank you for responding. I will definitely ask the doctor about a possible infection. They gave me cough syrup with codeine & that helped a lot last night. I was able to finally sleep! I am finding I cough when I drink my shakes, which concerns me because I don’t want to aspirate. Did you encounter anything like that?

Dear AJC

First, I am sorry you are going through all this and glad you are reaching out here. So glad to read you finally slept. Sleep is so critical to your mindset and recovery as is food. I had a nasal feeding tube for about 3 weeks. It was a pain in the butt. But, it also got calories in me until I could learn to swallow again (I had a partial glossectomy, they took half my tongue and transplanted flesh from my forearm to rebuild it). When I started on food, I was super careful about swallowing and would eat for hours sometimes. A small sip of this and chew that and wash it down with water. It was kind of a full time job getting the min 2,000 calories in me every day. After a couple weeks, my ability to manipulate food got better, then better again after a few more. I had to learn to judge my improvement in weeks and months. I also had a suction machine with me for a month or longer to help clear the mucous from my mouth. I assume you have one.

Please discuss all this with your medical team. And, consider a feeding tube - stomach or nasal. It will help get those calories into your body that you desperately need over these months.

Sending you prayers for a full recovery and peace.

Nels