Hello, new member

Stronggbow
Stronggbow Member Posts: 5 Member
edited June 2022 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello,

I just joined this. I had oral cancer in 2015, a tumor on the right side of my tongue that was cancerous and spread to the lymph nodes on the same side of the neck. Went thru 6.5 weeks of radiation and 3 treatments of chemo. I had part of my tongue removed and replaced with a chunk from wrist area. I also had a neck dissection. Had the feeding tube from March thru Sep. Lost a lot of weight and muscle.

Luckily, still cancer free. After I had the tube removed and healed up from that I started working out to get my strength back, and still workout 5 days a week.

I had a lot of weird problems related to the dry mouth over the years that I had to figure out myself since my doctors were always stumped.

Comments

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,482 Member
    #2

    Stronggbow welcome to the forum and we are certainly glad you got through all your treatments and have been cancer-free for a number of years. I saw this a little late but want to give you a belated welcome. As you said many times we have to figure out how to deal with things post-treatment and other times also so it is good to have a public forum like this to share ideas. What helps my dry mouth is putting a piece of gum between my cheek and teeth and letting it there or chewing as you normally would, it seems to stimulate saliva. Also, I hope you are aware of Xylimelts lozenges that adhere to the tooth or gum, especially good for overnight. Again glad to have you but sorry you have a reason to be here but cancer-free now is excellent.

    Wishing You the Best

    Take Care God Bless-Russ

  • ERomanO
    ERomanO Member Posts: 323 Member
    #3

    Hello, Stronggbow, and welcome!

    You sure had an extensive treatment plan. If your only side effect is dry mouth I'd say you're doing well. As Russ pointed out, the Xylimelt discs work great at night. I use one every night, but don't use them much throughout the day like I did at first. I like the Act Dry Mouth Lozenges and keep many boxes on hand. Keep up those workouts and get lots of protein in your diet to complement them. Maintaining strength gets more important the older we get.

    All the best to you!

    Eugene

  • Stronggbow
    Stronggbow Member Posts: 5 Member
    #4

    Thanks, guys!

    My dry mouth seems to get slightly better every year. Xylitol and my body don't see eye to eye, so I stay away from that. A sip of water now and then and with meals seems to work fine these days.

    Over the years I've had problems I mostly had to figure out by myself that were related to the surgery and treatment.

    1. Sleep apnea- from the swelling in my neck caused by lymphedema. It was so bad after radiation it would affect my hearing also. That has gotten better over time.
    2. Reoccurring infection of the saliva glands on the left side. I would get the chills and be out of action for a day from it. This had my GP doctor stumped. I figured it out and explained what I thought it was and she prescribed anti-biotics. That took care of it.
    3. Swollen saliva glands on the right side. Happens about once a month and goes away in a day.
    4. Burning mouth syndrome- a relatively new issue and I think it's caused by laryngopharyngeal reflux and my mouth being dry makes it worse. I'm currently taking a product called "Reflux Gourmet" which works great and has that under control.

    There were a couple other minor issues that I can't remember off the top of my head. I listed these in case someone else had had these issues.

    Stay strong!

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