Hi, My husband was just told he has base of tongue cancer. So far he has had one chemo treatment and three radiation treatments. So far so good. What should I exspect in the future? Thank You

Hi Dse
It will depend on the ammout of rt and the number of chemo and rt sessions

I have completed my rt 1 Month now

Symtoms will vary but with me Sore throat
ulcerated mouth, unable to eat food for a while
sticky phelgm

But different people react different and may have some the same but to different degrees

Any advice or questions about treatment side effects can be answered here by a whole lot of good people here they have supported and helped me through my treatment

always here if required
Best wishes
Dave and Sue

Hi David, Susan and all, My husband (Bill) is set up for 1 day a week of chemo for 7 weeks and 5 days a week for 7 weeks of R/T. Yesterday he started having sweats and then chills along with a headache. The Dr says its from the steroids in the antinausa meds. Whats your thoughts? Donna

Hi Donna and Bill
I did not have as much as that only 2 chemo and 20 sessions measured at 55 grays you should ask what dosage measured in grays bill will be getting.

The Rt did not start to kick in till about week 3 and is just starting to subside 1 month later

I found a tip giving to me by users of this forum was to use salt and bicarb homemade mouthwash it soothed the mouth and ulcers can provide the ammounts if required
still use it occ now (dont swallow and rinse mouth out with water after)

Good luck always here for advice
Let us know if we can help and how the 2 of you are keeping
Dave and Sue

Hi Donna and Bill,
So sorry you have to go through this terrible time as well. My husband Darrel had base tongue cancer and throat cancer as well, which was the secondry. He had 8 weeks of R/t and Chemo once a week for that time as well. He suffered with mouth uclers quite badly, thrush not being able to eat, his skin burnt quite badly with the r/t as well. With the skin burning I would apply aloe vera gell which I kept in the fridge for him and would be very cooling after his treatment. In between that we used a very good vitamin E cream which kept his skin very good and nourished. He would have different mouth washes and gels for his ulcers and thrush which were recommened by his Doctor. He always had chemo after his R/t because he would ofter swell after this and the mask would be too tight for him, usually after chemo day he would be very tired and a bit nauseous for about 3 days then he would come good again. I bought him a reclining chair for at home which was a great buy for him to rest his head and he often sleeps in that chair during the day. As I mentioned earlier in my first email he still suffers from bad pain, swelling, ulcers and he stopped treatment nearly 4 weeks ago now. But since finding this wonderful web site and reading so much he tried propping his head up with pillows, massaging his neck, anti-inflamtory tablets and he woke this morning to a much better day. So please keep watching and asking on this site and I'm sure it will be a great help to you both, I'm sorry I didn't find it sooner. My husband didn't have to have a peg but he was put into hospital quite often due to swelling of his tongue with mouth ulcers and problems with thrush they would feed him then with a drip. Good luck to you both and if I can help with anything else I will try and answer how we coped but as you know as well everyone is so different with how they go. I pray you have an easier time. Hugs to you both, Tracey

Thank You everyone for your insight and support. We just finished up our first week of chem and r/t. So far so good. A little problem with temp. and headaches but we figured it out to being not enough water intake. Today we have a constipation issue but are working that out to(poor humor). I'm sure we will have more questions in the future and will ask more of you. Thamks for the help..Donna & Bill

Hi DSE

Fluids are important between 1.5 and 2 litres a day

I was prescribe Movicol to keep my bowels open
The pain killers will make bill constipated so stock up on them

Well done with the first week you seem a together couple

best Regards
Dave and Sue

Dear David and Sue,
This is the "Immortal" once again! - as this is what the meaning of Ananth is in Hindi. I have had really some very bad experiences with radiation and was given a massive overdose of the same (almost double that a Human being can endure in his/her life time). Thirty five sitting of radiation and four sittings of Chemo made my life hell and eating or drinking was a nightmare. I would use Xylocaine spray ( a local anesthesia ) just before eating or drinking so that the pain would not be there when I did eat or drink. Constipation or upset stomachs are very much a norm and depending on the situation my mother and wife would load me with Banana milkshake with a large mix of organic health foods. That took care of the constipation and as far as the upset stomach went I would move on to a lot of soups, lentils. rice water and suprise - cheese sandwiches - pureed in milk and that would be a great help. I refused to accept the diet chart that was given to me by the hospital and guess I did the right thing.
By the way Dave - at what stage did they discover your problem?
With lots of love,
Ananth