My mom, aged 80, has completed 6 brachy+27 radiotherapy for a tumor on her right lower gum one month ago. While she has recovered from peeling skin on the neck and the bleeding and sore mouth has become ease and she can eat congee and porridge now, NEW PAIN develops on the membrance on both sides of her cheek. More worrying is: white lines occur on the left side (far side from radiotheray), burning pain on near side and a line of small water bubble develop on upper palate after meals. Besides, one month after therapy, she still feels a lot of heat releasing from her mouth and lip. Can someone tell me is this the normal side effect of radiotherapy or it means new infection? I read about the article on Candida on this website and wonder is this the cause for her new discomfort?

Angela
my husband had candida freguently. Take your mom to her dr. They can tell right away. They gave my husband Nystatin swish and swollow several times and finally put him on difulcan which works better It's a pill. Good luck to you and Mom
Diane

This doesn

I had radiation treatment about 2 months ago. And I have been having problems (I believe) with Candida for about 3 months off and on. About a mounth ago they gave me an Nystatin which is liquid and you swish around in your mouth. I ran out of that, so they gave me Ketoconazole (Nizoral). That worked very well, but the Candida came back. So they gave me Diflucan. I have been taking it for about 4 days and it does't seem to be helping me yet. So I might have to switch back to Kenoconazole. Does any one know about how long Candidia will keep accurring ?

Now I found that my mom was prescribed with Nastatin too. She does feel more comfortable after swish but the symtom persists. Will consult the doctor again.
I just realise that her usual diet, i.e. bread, sweet porridge, rice congee with minced pork, may encourage development of the candida. She tried minced chicken yesterday but found it hard to swallow, even causing a large blister near the tonsil. All kinds of fruit,e.g. apple source, minced banana are irritating the wound too. Any suggestion pls?

Fruit and juices of any kind are pretty brutal when dealing with mouth sores (it's the acidity). It can take almost a week for Diflucan to work - be patient. Thrush will also cause anything you're swallowing to be more painful also. My doctor has me on a maintenance dose (200mg/day). Candida will be a potential problem as long as you have dry mouth. I have read that cranberry juice is good for candida. You could try diluting it with water if it burns too much.

Gary
---------------
SCC, Stage III, Right Tonsil
treatment ended 03/20/03

Hi all,

It has been over 2 years for me now and I still get the problem. For me the symptom is burning of the tongue and a reduction in my sense of taste. I have never seen the classic white spots but every time the burning starts, a swish of Nystatin 2 times usually clears it right up. I think the key is not letting it get to be an advanced case. Knock it out right away. For me I can go several weeks without a problem then it comes back. I simply make sure I have a bottle of that Nystatin around at all times.

Judging from all the posts about this, I think that this is very common problem. Thankfully over time it is getting less frequent.

Angela, Please do check with her doctor, but I think your mother is still experiencing the effects of the radiation. The sore mouth can take a bit more time to go away.

Take care

I found chocolate milk and instant breakfast worked well. I also ate a lot of cream of wheat. My teeth started to hurt, so right now I go to the dentist and they paint floride on my teeth every two weeks for the next six months. And then less and less ect.

Thanks Brian, Mark and everybody.
Mom saw the doctor yesterday and was told not to worry about. She was prescribed with a course of famciclover and more nystatin.
The exchanging of information really help a lot as we know what to expect through your sharing of experience. Mom definitely feels more at ease and more patient after hearing the experience of survivors across the world.
May God bless you all.

One of the most wonderfull things this does for us all is allow sharing and expressing human kindness without any strings attached. Your mother at age 80 is an inspiration to all of us that are younger. I feel an incredible sense of something special that across many thousand miles we have so much in common...thank you! It is a suprise to me every day that something as bad as cancer provides us all with something of such high value. We would never have known each other except for this event we share...

Peace and God be with You