My husband is going through chemoradiation right now for stage 3 HPV cancer on base of tongue. In January they started 3 rounds of aggressive chemo treatment to get the tumor smaller and to remove the trach before radiation started. They started chemoradiation on March 17th and his last treatment is May 4th. I'm curious what others in the forum chemo protocol with radiation was / is? Since the tumor shrunk quite a lot from the chemo rounds, they changed him to a low dosage of cisplatin every week instead of doing it every 21 days. According to his appointments his last chemo day is this Wednesday. Is it normal to stop chemo 2 weeks before radiation ends?

Also what is the deal with the excessive saliva? He's had it since the trach tube and chemo rounds and we always thought it was because of the trach. The doctor's don't seem to have an answer to help it. He's so close to being done with radiation and he wants to give up because the excessive saliva is killing him and his throat.

My husband also had base of tongue cancer HPV+ and he received Cisplatin as well as seven weeks of radiation . Because John’s cancer was at the higher stage, he had 70 grays of radiation. It was a harsh and tough treatment. John developed DVT after the second dose of Cisplatin and did not get the third dose. We were reassured that it would not impact the outcome as the Cisplatin acts as a radio-sensitizer. He never got a Tracy although he had a feeding tube. Did your husband have surgery? My understanding was that his cancer was in a location not easily reached. The doctor actually joked about having to break his jaw and cutting out his tongue. I didn’t find it very funny, needless to say. Instead of excessive saliva, he had the typical dry mouth that patients who have radiation get, together with loss of taste. So, I can’t really answer your question about that. I hope this is a bit helpful for you although I know I haven’t answered all your questions.

My husband’s cancer was base of tongue, but it was not in the oral tongue. It’s in the oropharynx.

I’m having the same problem they tell me it’s normal with radiation. I still have the trach. The mucus is killing me!