Hi ~
My father (65 yrs. old) was diagnosed with cancer in his tonsils a few years ago. His doctor immediately did a tonsilectomy followed by weeks of radiation & chemo as a safety precaution. Seemed to be a success, however, a year later he got a sore throat & was told the cancer was now in his esophogus & base of tongue (Squamous Cell Carcinoma). A month later, he flew to Oahu (Honolulu) for surgery by an extraordinary doctor (Kristine Adachi) who specializes in oral cancer. Short version:
*1st surgery 15 hrs. - removed all the cancer
{unfortunately during surgery she found cancer in his voice box
as well & removed half of it}
*2nd surgery (2 days later) 20 hrs. - reconstruction of his
esophogus, voice box, and tongue {left neck dissection}

Been a little over a year & so far so good. However, he is still on a feeding tube, has difficutly with speech & swallowing, but the worse problem he has is constant excess saliva/mucous & drooling. He carries one of those small hospital plastic dishes 24/7. The spitting & drooling drives him crazy, and has turned him into somewhat of a hermit due to the embarassment. He is currently taking Sal-Tropine (every 4 hrs.) a medication to dry up excess saliva/mucous, but it does not help much. He recently read an article about Canadian man w/ brain stem cancer who had surgery & encountered the same problem after. His doctors injected his Salivary Glands (submandibular & parotid) with Botox, and it worked! He is injected every 4-6 mos. I found some information on the internet about using botox for excess saliva (mostly for ALS & Cerebalpalsy patients). I would like to know if anyone has tried botox, or if there is any other miracle cure out there? I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!

Kim