nasopharangeal cancer.

My husband also was diagnoised with nasopharageal cancer. This cancer was a squamous cell carcinoma. His main tumor was at the base of his tongue, the size of a kiwi fruit. The cancer had metastized to a lymphnode in his neck. The lymphnode was the size of a small sweet potatoe. My husband first went to the doctor for the swelling in his lympnode and through the cat scan they discovered the tumor at the base of his tongue. Dave was treated very aggressive, becasue of the size and location of his tumor his doctors decided to start with 39 doses of radiation along with 3 rounds of chemo/ cis-platin 21 days apart, hoping to shrink or melt away the main tumor and then follow up with surgery on the lympnodes and clean up with 3 more rounds of chemo using cis-platen + F5U(5days) 21 days apart.

Back to the feeding Tube questions: Dave received a feeding tube in his stomach about 1/2 way through his radiation and 2nd round of Chemo.
Dave started out probably 40 lbs over weight, but dropped weight very rapidly. Dave would tell you to get the feeding tube as soon as your doctor tells you to, if he had it to do over he would have used it sooner. His doctor had wanted to put it in right away, but Dave did not think he would need it. Even with the feeding tube Dave lost 58 lbs during his treatments. Getting the tube in was not a big deal,it was just a short stay at the hospital with mild discomfort. It is easy to learn how to do it. We received training from home care. Most of Dave's feeding was done with the syringe and special formula. Sometimes we would have to use a dripbag to drip the formula and fluids into the tube, because his system could only take very tiny amounts at one time. And there were a few times he was hospitilized for hydration and IV feedings. The feeding tube was the only way to keep nutrition and fluids in he just could not take in food or drink for months.

Dave had his tube in for about 6 months, when they took it out it healed very quickly with no problems.

By the way the tumor in Dave's throat completely dissapeared and the lymphnode tumor shrunk to the size of a plum. He had surgery to remove it and the cancer was dead and gone, they also removed 4 more lymphnodes and they were all clear. Dave also received a drug call Ethiol during his radiation treatments to help protect his salivary glands and this helped a lot. He does not need to take anything for a dry mouth, he does drink more water though, which is very good for him. Dave receives monthly nasophyarnyx check-ups and it has now been 7 mos. since he has been deemed free of cancer. "PRAISE GOD"

Just for your information Dave has never been a smoker and has never drank excessivily, and yet he developed a cancer that is mostly linked to the use of tobacco and or heavy alcohol usage.

If we can answer any more questions or you would just like to talk you can contact us at: alnaysmom@aol.com.

Geri

Please tell hubby that that tube will help him immensely keeping nourishment in him. He wont probably be able to swallow muchm and the tube is sure a liife saver, Boost and Ensure dont taste allthat goods, anyway, so he wont miss much. I love Pepsi, and they were careful to tell me not to put anything carbonatedn down the tube, cause they said Id regret it.

JohnG said:

For what it's worth, I went through nasopharangeal cancer treatment this past winter, and I did not get a feeding tube. I lost 45 pounds, and my throat is still so sore that I can barely eat more than smooth soups. If I had it to do over again, I would not hesitate to get a feeding tube if my doctors recommended one because getting all the appropriate nutrition down with such a sore throat has been a daily challenge.

John

Went thru same spring and summerof last year. Had peg tube put in before treatments started, and still lost 60 lbs, so I believe it helped save my life. Did yours make that awful popping noise when it was yanked out? Last two Pet Scans showed no traces of cancer! Guess all the sickness and feeling tired was well worth it. Still get a dry mouth often and seem to drink a lotmore than before. If you nneed anything, my e mail is mu4ever2000@yahoo.com and my name is Tom Alexander. Nothing but best wishes from one cancer survivor to another!

tomalexander said:

Also went thru chemo and radiation for nasopharangeal cancer from Feb 2002 thru July 2002. There were somepretty dark days in there, but my last two pet scans showed no trace of cancer anywhere in my body! Had a peg tube inserted before treatments began, and it proved to be a lifesaver. Still lost little over 60 lbs.
Still get a very dry mouth on occasion and can eat almost anything as long as I have milk or some other liquid to help. Used to dearly love really spicy foods, but now they would really tear me up. Radiation has caused myvoice to change. Sounds to me like theres a frog in there. I guess for all my griping, I am awfully llucky. Keep getting stronger as time passes. I see other patients who ars much worse off, and then I want to kick myself for griping at all.
If you have any desire to do so, please e-mail me at mu4ever2000@yahoo.com. My name is Tom Alexander.

Try singing the scales up and down, at the top hold the note and at the bottom hold the note. My husband was told to do this at least 10 times per day and it work his voice was great. For dry mouth we found club soda to help. As mix up 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 quart of water and keep it in a quart jug and swish and swallow or just swish this also helps with dry and clearing ou the mucus. Also to help with sore throat and clear up some of the mucus (thinning it out) go to health food store and buy Throat coat it is a tea. I put honey in it and my husband says it works. He went thru 40 radiation treatments to throat got rid of tumor 2002 summer then unfortunately in Janu 2003 it spread to lungs. Now he is on chemo and got radiation recall to throat so it is like being burned all over again in throat area so the throat coat does help Thanks and good luck to all, Candy