Any recommendations for a mucus suction machine?

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James411
James411 Member Posts: 1
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello all,

New member here. I am writing in regards to my 75 year old father who was diagnosed with head and neck cancer (tonsil) late last year. He went through the typical course of radiation and erbitux for 8 weeks. His last treatment was the end of February and he seemed to be doing a lot better however a few weeks after treatment he started noticing more problems and after some more tests it was confirmed last week that the cancer has come back.

His oncologist did not seem very optimistic. Three options were given: 1) new round of chemo (using cisplatin and erbitux) with the hopes of shrinking the tumor to improve quality of life (it did not sound like this would cure it), 2) surgery (sounding like a mandiblectomy) assuming he is a candidate, and 3) do nothing.

He starts the new chemo this week while we are waiting for a referral to a major university 3 hours away to meet with a surgeon about the possibility of surgery. In the mean time we are hoping to make things as comfortable as possible and one of the major frustrations he is having is thick mucus/phlegm that makes it very difficult to talk/swallow sometimes.

I have recently picked up a humidifier for him in hopes it would thin out the mucus. I've seen other posters on this board mention mucus suction machines that can be bought. I did a little searching on Amazon and some of the ones I found did not seem to have great reviews. Can anyone recommend a machine they have had a positive experience with that may help?

Thank you for your help. 

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  • Ladylacy
    Ladylacy Member Posts: 773 Member
    edited May 2016 #2
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    Suction Machine

    My husband used a DeVilbiss suction machine and never had a problem with it and it did the job.  Medicare will cover the majority of the cost if you get a prescription from the doctor.  I bought it and then later found out Medicare would have paid for it.  He used the same machine for his 5 year battle that he lost.  We used to joke about all the mucus he had by saying we were keeping the paper towel companies in business and then we found out about the suction machine.  At the end, I had to use it to suction him and had no problems.

    Wishing you and your family the best

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