I am 32 yrs and have been diagnosed with SCC of tongue in dec 2008 and underwent hemiglossectomy and radiation..i am just left with one session of radiation. my problem is excessive secretion of saliva and my therapist told me that it will stop once i am done with radiation.... can anyone please let me know what is the time period for that to happen ...most of my job is on phone and it creates problem while talking though my speech is different from what it used to be.

your valuable replies are appreciated.

Rgds

Hi Sri

Welcome to the club that no one wants to join.

I had a hemiglossectomy and free-flap resection in February 2005 for SCC N0M0. Any work done on your tongue will have an effect on the way you speak (have you ever heard someone with a pierced tongue talk--they slur their words YEARS later. But, I digress). I still have the occasional "tongue cramp" and my doctor is at a loss to explain them to my satisfaction. I didn't have rt, but there are several folks here on the site who did and will be more than willing to help you.

Each patient is different, so there's really no set of milestones to go by like there is in child development; when you heal is when you heal. Don't worry that your speech is different--it really is early days for you and it will get better.

Sorry I couldn't give you better advice.

Julia

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Julia,

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement...i wish that my voice gets better

Hi Sri

Are you working with a speech therapist for this? You might want to see about getting an appointment with one--they could give you exercises to improve both range of motion and mobility. I had two evaluations (one when either my trach or ng tube was removed, the other a few months after that) and didn't need follow up on speech although the therapist gave me a few pages of drills and assignments to do in order improve the few problems I did have making certain sounds (ch and t, in particular). One of the drills I was given was to read something into a tape recorder every week or so--no only did my endurance improve, but my speech was clearer each time.


Julia

on 21 April 2009, Sri posted:

quote:

Hi all,
I am 32 year male from India diagnosed with SCC of tongue in dec 08 and underwent hemiglossectomy and RND (left side..no flap) on 19th of dec 08 followed by 27 sessions of radiation. even though its almost four months since i underwent surgery i still feel the stiffness in the area of surgery and sometimes creating problems for speech and eating...

my beard also hasn't regrown till now... how long will it usually take for the beard to grow back....can anyone tell me whether any of u had similar problem or is that a problem with me only.

woud appreciate your valuable inputs....
cheers,
sri

Hello Sri

I have moved some of your several posts under "Introduce Yourself" to keep your posts organised under this thread or other (Food, Q & A, etc) so that it is easier for you to find the answers to your posts.

Best wishes
Vinod

thank you Doc .....

Sri,
I was diagnosed with scc in November 08 had the hemiglossectomy and the neck dissection and 32 radiation treatments. About 3 weeks after radiation was done I noticed in the front of my mouth I have a lot of saliva, but the back is very dry. I just keep drinking all day. I too am on the phone for my job. I have been back to work for a week and a half and it's not going to bad. I just take a drink after every phone call. My worst problem is at night. I can't seem to keep my mouth shut while I sleep and I have a humidifier going.

Hi Sri, I forgot to mention that yes my voice is also different, my family says it is almost back to normal. But people I work with say I sound so different and look so different thanks to my weight loss. I feel like my s's are awful but time should make it better also once the dryness and saliva issues are better.

Hi Mom of two,

thank you very much for the reply... now after four months of surgery i still have stiffness in the area of surgery and luckily no dry mouth and my voice is so diff people who knew me before surgery say so and i am not able to pronounce some words properly which is effecting my job... dont know how long will it take for me t get back to normal.....

lets pray that we will get back to normal.

cheers
sri

Hi Sri, I had mouth Cancer and for a very long time had secretion from my mouth this stopped after Radiotherapy and then my mouth has been constantly dry since.
Your beard well I have been sadden for sometime that I cannot grow a beard anymore and hide the scarring on my neck.
Where I had the radiotherapy there is just no growth and told never will be.
I still have and will and they will me no change now in my voice which is very quiet and alot of words I cannot prounounce(also part of tounge removed) but the way I get round this is to think of words that are more simple for me to say.
I am in New Delhi at the moment visiting friends and without them I would be very stuck as I cannot get people to understand me
I cannot do the job I used to do and it took me 6 years to get in the right frame of mind and confidence to find another work to do.
I look different now and do get some funny looks even here in India and at home its very difficult for me to shop alone specially if i\ need to ask a question.
Having said this as I said earlier you do find ways to cope and it can be very soul destroying but I pray that I find the strenght to keep going.
I hope this answers your questions.

cheers

Paul

Paul,

glad to see you back on here posting.... yeah, i am one of the guys who has followed your posts....

yep, it is tough and i've read on more than one occassion when you were down in the dumps...

Sri, Paul is a good poster to follow.... he doesn't gloss over the problems some of us face in speaking, employment, everday life, etc. just remember though, he has been through a lot and he is still around, and apparently is doing some traveling.... he is just full of surprises.....

later, pete

Hey paul and Pete,
Thanks for your email. i feel fortunate enough that i am not going through what paul has gone through... as i have told you my problem of speech is because of the stiffness around the part where surgery was done and at times my speech is so clear that i cant believe my self...

Paul...

Glad to hear that you are in India and you enjoying your vacation..is this the first time you are in india

Cheers,
Sri

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sri,