Lack of appetite and dry mouth

Hello Denise,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Megan, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

Welcome to the online community. I can see that you have joined the Lung cancer forum, Carers only forum and New to the community forum; I hope you have found these communities warm and supportive.

I was sorry to read about your husband’s throat cancer diagnosis and that he is having a difficult time with ongoing symptoms and requires further treatment. As you say it has been a hard time coping with these side effects, but it sounds like you are being a wonderful support to him. I do hope you are also receiving support during this time.

Loss of appetite is a common side effect of radiotherapy to the head, neck or chest and can be affected by many different things both physical and emotional. We have further information on our website about how radiotherapy works and the side effects of radiotherapy which you may find useful in reading. As explained these side effects can vary in severity, onset and duration and the exact side effects experienced usually depend on where the tumour was and how much treatment was needed.

We have information on who can help but in order to best understand how long he may experience the loss of appetite and lack of saliva we would encourage you to speak with a member of his hospital team. This is likely to be his head and neck clinical nurse specialist (sometimes called a Macmillan nurse).

If you are concerned that any of the side effects are new, increasing, or worsening we would always advise you to inform the hospital team or GP as soon as possible. They would want to know if your husband is having a hard time coping and they can then assess and decide if he requires further medication, investigations, or treatment to best manage these symptoms.

As you have witnessed undergoing treatment has left your husband feeling tired every day and not feeling himself. Whilst some of this could be due to the physical effects of undergoing cancer treatment, it could also be due to the emotional effects of undergoing cancer treatment. He may find it useful speaking to someone. He is most welcome to speak to one of our counsellors about his feelings.

It is important to know that you are both not alone and that there is a lot of support and information available. You might find it useful to explore the Head & Neck Cancer Foundation, HANCUK and The Swallows Head and Neck Cancer Group for additional support and advice. You might also find it useful to join our Head and neck cancer forum.

I hope this information is useful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in contact by email, webchat or phone, if you need further information or support.

The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.

Best wishes, Megan

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

Ref MD/CF