Hi my husband who has been through with radiation since Aug 11th (stage 4 base of tongue).is experiencing more pain and swelling now than the prior weeks after treatment. Has anyone else had this reaction. I'm concerned that the raditation may have done some damage to his jaw.Around 2weeks before he was diagnosed he had a tooth pulled as they thought the pain was from an abcess(Don't even get me started on how upset we are that the dentist did'nt have some idea what was going on, my husbands tongue was so swollen he could barely open his mouth and this dentist still pulled his tooth) Radiation had to be done so quickly he did'nt have the luxury of having his teeth protected before treatment. So my husband is getting frustrated that the swelling is worse and there seems to be pain in the jaw area and gums. We have made an appt with a new dentist. concerned if radiation has done damage to his jaw bone or maybe an infection in his gums because the ulcers seem to be a little better, but the pain still pursit now even worse.Has anyone else experianced this???
Thanks
And take care everyone, I ahve learned so much from the short time I have joined this site.

Hi B,
He is 2 months past end of radiation and it seems unusual that he's now having more pain. He should be seeing his ENT, or his radiation doctor rather then a new dentist.
Hope all is well with him.
Minnie

He saw the new ENT for the first time last week and he suggested that he go to the dentist. But your right he does have to see the radiation dr. He was sheduled for the 20th but I'm calling him tuesday to get him seen earlier. He is also in alot of discomfort from the scope, which must have irritated his throat alot of spitting up of blood. I will let you know how we made out.
B
take care

They should check and see if there is any exposed jawbone, which sometimes happens if they just pull the teeth before radiation.

B,

It sounds similar to what my mom went through and yes she does have an exposed jaw bone and even now 2 1/2 years after radiation she still has jaw pain and occasional swelling from an infection in the bone. We are meeting with her ENT on Thursday to schedule another surgery where they will remove her jaw bone and replace it with a bone from her leg. This is an extreme measure but she continues to have problems from radiation damage so this is her only alternative to get her life back to normal.

Please keep us posted about what you find out.

Take Care,
Dani

Well we went to the dentist today, and the dentist had to have a telephone conference with my husbands raditation oncologist before he would even attempt to do anything, He was unable to have a regular xray so tommorrow he will go to an oral surgeon were they have the xrays that they can do from the outside. From what he could see he doesn' think the jaw bone is infected but not sure yet. He cleaned his teeth ( very carefully).Since He was put on the predizone the last couple of days for the swelling and that seems to have helped with some of the pain.
I'll let you know the outcome
Take Care
B