loss of voice

arndog64
arndog64 Member Posts: 537
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
my husband struggles to speak these days. He is very hoarse and has trouble getting words out. It started this week and we have 7 more days of rads left. I hope this is just temporary damage and will return to normal soon. BTW - It started on Monday when they started keying in on the main tumor on his neck.

Comments

  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #2
    A lot of us have lost our
    A lot of us have lost our voice during rads. I lost mine for a couple months. It came back, but I don't sound like I used to. I used to sing 2nd soprano in two choirs and now I cannot sing anymore, but I can still talk. I cannot really talk very loudly anymore either.

    When I lost my voice, I barely even had a whisper. I would try and talk and croaking squeaks would come out, then finally nothing. The worst was trying to call my dog, plus I couldn't whistle anymore either. I would clap my hands to call him in.

    Yeah, the last week of rads is when they do the neck boost sometimes.

    Almost through though! Hang in there guys!
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #3

  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #4
    Sorry double post
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #5
    It'll Get Better
    Lost my voice and hoarseness is common....even two years later at times my voice can become raspy.

    It'll get better....

    Best,
    John
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #6
    Skiffin16 said:

    It'll Get Better
    Lost my voice and hoarseness is common....even two years later at times my voice can become raspy.

    It'll get better....

    Best,
    John

    Voice loss

    It is just a temporary thing to lose the voice during treatment, it like everything in his body will require time to heal and will get better in time.

    Take care
    Hondo
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #7
    Same situation..
    I had the same thing happen near the midway point of my treatment for laryngeal cancer. I was scared to death that it meant the chemo and rads were no longer working. My onc doc smiled and told me not to worry, my voice would return soon. Less than a week later my voice was back to normal. It's scary when it happens but please be assured that it is normal.

    Stay well,
    Glenna
  • ToBeGolden
    ToBeGolden Member Posts: 695
    #8
    Having Trouble With My Voice
    My voice has gotten worse post radiation treatment for laryngeal cancer. The radiation blew a hole in one of the vocal cords. (I'm told that this is not accurate, but it is how it looks.) My voice therapist (I've only had/needed a couple of sessions) has told me to take deep breaths and speak in short phrases. Push a lot of air and try not to constrict the vocal cords. This is the same technique used by opera (and other) singers. I know that I am not explaining it well.

    When I speak correctly, I can be understood. And my voice lasts for a short (20 min) conversation. If I get excited, or find myself talking in a loud environment etc, my voice fails me after a couple of minutes. When the voice fails me, it takes a day or two to return, even to this pitiful level.

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