throat cancer

mhfield

   I was diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer and it has gone through my cartilage and into my neck muscles. I was wondering if I should do a full laryngectomy or try chemo and radiation and what is the quality of life for both.

paul61

Many people have had success with chemotherapy

Hello,

I am sorry you find yourself here. I am an esophageal cancer survivor and I had both chemotherapy and surgery. My cancer was adenocarcinoma. That form of cancer typically occurs at the bottom of the esophagus just above the stomach.

Most people you will find here that have cancer at the top of their esophagus have squamous cell cancer.

Chemotherapy is not as difficult now as it was several years ago as they have many support medications to deal with the side effects of the chemotherapy drugs. Side effects often include nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue.

I also had surgery but my surgery did not involve my larynx, so I can’t speak to recovery time or quality of life after surgery that high up in the esophagus. I would assume there would be some issues with speaking after that.

With the surgery I did have (which involved removing 2/3 of my esophagus and half of my stomach) after about 8 months of recovery my life is pretty much back to normal with some minor life style changes including sleeping on an incline and eating several small meals a day.

Cancer treatment is much more effective today than it used to be 10 years ago, but your oncologist is your best source of options and what to expect in outcome from treatment of your particular cancer.

Best Regards,

Paul

br_bernardo

prayers your way

mhfield, this is a couple of months from when you originally posted, just wanted to let you know I pray for your well-being. I hope you can post an update for us. 

Love & blessings!