hi everyone.
my husband has base of tongue cancer and is currently in his 6th week of radiation. this has been the worst week so far. he says he feels like there is something stuck in the back of his throat causing him to vomit at least 4 times a day. is this normal? he doesn't want to feed through the peg tube because he says that if his stomach is full the contents really irritates his throat when it comes up. i'm really worried because he is really losing alot of weight.

I also had a tumor at the base of tongue and I had a very similar if not the same problem. I think most of my throw up episodes were not from nausea, but from the natural gag reflex I had from the feeling of something stuck back in my throat. It was worse for me when I bent over to brush my teeth, or took a hot shower, these two activities seemed to cause my sinus cavity to drain just enough to give me that “something stuck in my throat” feeling. At the end of my radiation treatment I couldn't talk for very long without gagging. Sometimes I would gag so hard that I would lose my voice for a while. I recall very well that when this happened it always seemed like I was throwing up nothing but pure stomach acid and it would really burn my throat.

Unfortunately the only thing for me that seemed to help a little was taking frequent sips of water. Even at the end of my treatment I could still drink water. This seemed to keep my throat moist, but it didn't always help. I'm pretty sure I have thrown up in every bathroom at MD Anderson on the walk from the reception area to the area where I received my radiation treatment!

I would offer to use more frequent PEG tube feedings with smaller quantities so your husband's stomach does not fill full all the time.

As with many of the wonderful side effects of radiation, things do get better with time, but it's difficult in the short term to get through each day.

The good news was that this ceased within about two weeks after my treatment ended and it sounds like you're near the end.

Randy Z.

It is disconserting for the caregivers to watch us throwing up so much (and for us too). It would be upsetting to work so hard to get nourishment or just water and have it come right back up again. I threw up more during a six month period than in my entire life combined. The chemo didn't help much either.

I didn't have tongue cancer but many of us have symptoms of something choking or gagging us or irritating the gag reflex and its probably mucousitis, thick saliva, heavy mucous or blood. I got so sentitized to it that almost any liquid would make me throw up. Even brushing my teeth could cause problems at times. "Pink Magic" would cause problems.

Like Randy, I had drainage problems too and still have fluid filled mastoid air bone cell areas.

Whenever I had constipation problems, I would vomit a lot also.

It does irritate your throat, slow the healing process and take the enamel off your teeth.

Be sure to let the doctors know so the can give you any relief medically for the problem.

Antacids helped me a bit. I also used Compazine suppositories when I couldn't keep anything down.

It'll get better - I promise.

Dear Randy and Gary,
Thanks for the info. Looks like the next few weeks aren't going to get any better. I guess these will be the hardest 3 weeks for the both of us. What did you do during this period to pass the time?
Wendy

Hi Wendy,
Fight like hell, pray and do the best you can. Talk to the doctor and/or advice nurse if you have one, and start troublshooting. I presume he is in his last week? Most people have a six week Tx program. I was bottoming out about then myself and remained there for several weeks after cessation of treatment. I lost most of my weight during that time period. I didn't have a PEG tube and looking back on it I probably should have. But I survived and so will he. Not every day was a disaster. Some days were horrific and some fair. Look for those fair days. Stay on top of water and nutrition.

Hi,
My husband lived on xylocaine viscous it numbed his throat so he can swollow and he would drink Ensure Plus If you live near a Walmart The Equate is less expensive and he said tasted better. 4 months later he still is on the same routine and has soup. So any great expectations of eating may not come true. My husband slept a lot he was real wiped out. It varies but as far as yourself I really advise trying to do something for yourself daily .You can really get down watching all this and truthfully the person really feels miserable and all the amount of cheering up you may try may not be effective. Especially if his mood is way out of line. He was at one point given a melts in your mouth pill for nausea which worked. Take Care and I hope everything works out for you both

Diane

boc wife, while your husband is next getting radiation, you corner one of the nurses and tell them what you told us. He needs to be getting nutrition. One way or the other, he must begin eating and drinking to prevent even worse problems down the road. As you can see, his is not a unique problem, so your medical professionals should be able to address it. Let us know how it goes, and what works.

Hi BOC Wife, to answer your question a few posts back on what I did to pass the time during the worst few weeks. Even though it was only 4 months ago I had to think about it for a few minutes.

My list may be a little different, but then again my wife says I'm not a normal person anyway (this goes back before the cancer!).

Obviously I read a lot, I also watched a lot of TV which I normally didn't do. I'm an 80's kid. I found a station that ran re-runs of Miami Vice so I watched those everyday (I actually remembered several of the episodes). VH1 has a series called "I love the 80's". I absolutely loved to watch that. It reminded me of my rebellious youth, but also reminded me that I was getting older. I also played a lot of Microsoft Flight Simulator on our computer. Even though I'm not a pilot, I got pretty good at zipping around the island's of Hawaii in a lear jet. I'm a Christian so I redicated myself to reading my Bible.

I was also fortunate enough to have a steady stream of friends who would call to check up on me.

To sum it up, I did anything and everything could to keep my mind off negative thoughts. For me personally it also helped that I had 4 kids that came home from school everday to occupy my time. I think you just have to break life down into some small components and just focus on getting through today, all the while knowing that there will be a day when things will be better.

I had a throat cancer survivor from my church tell me that on the days he felt the worst from his treatment, he would think positively that if he felt this bad, imagine how bad the cancer felt!

I hope the next few weeks go quickly for you!

Randy Z.

HI Everyone,
Thank you so much for the support. Since I am really the first in our group of friends going through this it has been a little rough to say the least. I don't think you know how it really is until you've experienced it first hand. Helping me through this process is really comforting. Thanks again.
Today was one of those good days! I can't believe he hasn't thrown up anything. He even managed to get down 3 cans of Ensure Plus mixed with vegetable juice. Tomorrow will complete week 6 with 2 more weeks to go(of radiation) and one session of chemo left.
I noticed that his mouth is bleeding now. Will that continue for the duration? Are there any other conditions that usually appear in the last few weeks of radiation that I haven't seen yet.
All your tips have been so healpful.
Wendy

As radiation continues to damage the cancer and the surrounding tissues, it is not uncommon for blood to be present. The mucocitis will also continue to get worse, even continuing several weeks after the treatments have ended. It was at this stage that I was on the greatest amount of painkillers, and mouth rinses. While unpleasant, in a few more weeks the worst will be over, and healing will begin to take place. This is also a time when the immune system is at it's lowest, and you need to be on the lookout for opportunistic infections like Candida. For all those going through it, this stage seems to take forever. But the good news is that it does pass, and things will once again return to normal.