rad mask question

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jim and i
jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
My husband had a test run with his Rad Mask on Thursday. He said there was a piece that went in his mouth that pushed up on the roof of his mouth and was very painful. Is this normal or should he let the doctor know. He said that the he told the tech it hurt and he ignored him.

Thanks, I
Debbie

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  • Dav1965
    Dav1965 Member Posts: 132
    #2
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    Tell the doctor
    When i went through my rads i did not have anything in my mouth. I would tell the doctor because its going to be bad enough when you are comfortable. I can not imagine being uncomfortable the whole time. Good luck. David
  • jim and i
    jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
    #3
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    Dav1965 said:

    Tell the doctor
    When i went through my rads i did not have anything in my mouth. I would tell the doctor because its going to be bad enough when you are comfortable. I can not imagine being uncomfortable the whole time. Good luck. David

    Thanks David, will
    Thanks David, will do.

    Debbie
  • adventurebob
    adventurebob Member Posts: 691
    #4
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    Not normal
    The mouthpiece is a little bit uncomfortable but should not be painful. Anything that doesn't feel right should be a concern to the techs and the docs. My suggestion would be to require them to fix it prior to radiation. Radiation is uncomfortable enough.

    Bob
  • palmyrafan
    palmyrafan Member Posts: 396
    #5
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    Radiation
    When I had my radiation, I did not have any piece of the mask in my mouth. I also am claustrophobic so I insisted that the techs cut out a small under the nostrils and for the mouth so I could at least feel like I was able to breathe better. It also gave me the feeling that I could "escape" at any time.

    At first the techs hedged, and when I told my doctor that if they didn't do as I requested there would be no radiation therapy, they complied.

    Radiation is hard enough and uncomfortable enough at times. Don't allow anything else to contribute to it.

    Blessings.

    Teresa
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #6
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    Anxiety
    Hi Debbie,

    I also had no mouth piece...I did have anxiety the first few days. They prescribed Xanax for me, and it was great...only used the first few days and then I was OK with everything from then on...

    Take a CD, it worked wonders for me...giving you a reference point for timing....4- 5 songs and your done. He'll learn every position, click, turn and whirl of that machine.

    Best,
    John
  • tonyb
    tonyb Member Posts: 69
    #7
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    I had the part that fits
    I had the part that fits inside your mouth also, Its to help protect your tounge from burning from the rads so badly. It sounds like the mask could be pinching the mouth piece up into the roof of the mouth. In my case they had to trim the mouth hole of the mask bigger to stop that from being so bad, but it happened because it was made from the blank upside down. So it was shaped wrong and the mask was pinching it and it was really uncomfortable. so when i complained that it was to uncomfortable they began looking closer at why and made the modification. I'll bet yours is similar. but the gist of the thing is it shouldn't be uncomfortable, but it will taste nasty. i called it the nasty popsicle. lol
    best of luck to you, tonyb
  • jim and i
    jim and i Member Posts: 1,788 Member
    #8
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    tonyb said:

    I had the part that fits
    I had the part that fits inside your mouth also, Its to help protect your tounge from burning from the rads so badly. It sounds like the mask could be pinching the mouth piece up into the roof of the mouth. In my case they had to trim the mouth hole of the mask bigger to stop that from being so bad, but it happened because it was made from the blank upside down. So it was shaped wrong and the mask was pinching it and it was really uncomfortable. so when i complained that it was to uncomfortable they began looking closer at why and made the modification. I'll bet yours is similar. but the gist of the thing is it shouldn't be uncomfortable, but it will taste nasty. i called it the nasty popsicle. lol
    best of luck to you, tonyb

    They adjusted the mask and
    They adjusted the mask and it felt better. Jim is not good at speaking up to others so once I spoke up for him they said they would try to adjust and if that did not work they would make a new one.

    Thanks for the info.
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #9
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    jim and i said:

    They adjusted the mask and
    They adjusted the mask and it felt better. Jim is not good at speaking up to others so once I spoke up for him they said they would try to adjust and if that did not work they would make a new one.

    Thanks for the info.

    Glad It's Resolved
    You and Jim have enough to deal with; glad your load is a little lighter. Do well.

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