Speech issues following treatment.

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Noodlesthecow
Noodlesthecow Member Posts: 1
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Greetings, CSN!

Short time lurker, first time poster.

Quick background: SCC of right side of tongue on 1/18/11. Partial glossectomy, no further treatment. Metastasis to right lymph node behind my ear, diagnosed on 2/14/12. Neck dissection on 2/23/12, with 33 rad treatments and 3 Cisplatin starting 4/12/12, done on 5/16/12. Currently recovering.

So, I have been reading through a ton of topics on here to get an idea on how my recovery will progress. I found lots of information, some encouraging, some not so much. But, this is how things are, so that's that.

I was wondering if any of you had speaking problems after your treatment? Currently, I still have a bit of mucus and thick saliva. I don't know how long I will keep the saliva. Hoping it never goes away, as some of the things I read on here about dry mouth are a bit depressing, to be honest. My main problem is that my tongue doesn't seem to work properly at the moment. Couple this with the extra spit all the time, and the odd shape the tongue has from my previous surgery, and it sounds like I am holding it in my fist while speaking. This is better than when I had the majority of the sores and whatnot from treatment, but, still. I need my speaking to be better in order to go back to work. I work in manufacturing, and am constantly communication with engineers. As I am now, I can barely get a few sentences out before I need to rinse multiple times with my salt and baking soda mix to get my mouth clear.

Anybody else been there?

Thanks!

Vince

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  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #2
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    Yettttthhhhhh....
    Sorry. Had to do that. I have had a bunch of interventions which affect my speech. radiation for BOT cancer. Resection of floor of mouth cancer, with grafting a radial flap. This bagged the nerve supply to lefy side of my tongue. More radiation for recurrance in soft palate. This latest ended in late February. I have gradually gotten more dry as time has passed since end of rads, and my tongur and jaw muscles are fibrosing, so speech is affected. I can be understood on the phone, and in person so long as I dont overuse my voice and speak slowly. Thats the good part. The bad part is that there is no way I could speak all day long, as my occupation demands. For this reason I am on disability. I advise that people like you and I be very patient. I dont know what shape my recovery will be in a year from now. But I do knowmthe event horizon on maximum recovery is at least that long.


    best to you


    Pat
  • rehana_surti
    rehana_surti Member Posts: 5
    #3
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    longtermsurvivor said:

    Yettttthhhhhh....
    Sorry. Had to do that. I have had a bunch of interventions which affect my speech. radiation for BOT cancer. Resection of floor of mouth cancer, with grafting a radial flap. This bagged the nerve supply to lefy side of my tongue. More radiation for recurrance in soft palate. This latest ended in late February. I have gradually gotten more dry as time has passed since end of rads, and my tongur and jaw muscles are fibrosing, so speech is affected. I can be understood on the phone, and in person so long as I dont overuse my voice and speak slowly. Thats the good part. The bad part is that there is no way I could speak all day long, as my occupation demands. For this reason I am on disability. I advise that people like you and I be very patient. I dont know what shape my recovery will be in a year from now. But I do knowmthe event horizon on maximum recovery is at least that long.


    best to you


    Pat

    Fibrosis due to radiation
    speech impairment post-rads is very common, specially for head n neck cancers, mostly due to fibrosis. my mom also has NG-tube for feeding which further impairs her speech due to the vocal cords vibrating against the tube. her right jaw is frozen due to fibrosis. keeping frustration at bay is very important, though very difficult at times.

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