Plagued by mouth sores and sore throat 6 weeks after radiotherapy for tonsil cancer.

Hi Seamouse

This  is Hazel I am 2 years almost post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes,at 6 weeks what you are feeling is quite normal Are you using alcohol free mouthwashes I still use bioxtra , duraphat toothpaste a very soft toothbrush   I liken my mouth and throat to a new born babys if yiu wouldn’t give a baby it my mouth wasn’t havung it .If you have a sore throat it could be you are  trying to eati things that are to scratchy and irritating what is already a delicate area due to treatment if yiu click my photo it will take you to my profile I have a blog with lots if links to other blogs and sites .

You can try difflam spray for your throat either from chemist or prescription do yiu have gelclair for ulcers prescribed by consultant or dr,I found simple salt wash helped ,plus are you eating enough yiu need 2500 calories minimum throughout recovery at yiur stage I got most calories from Ensure Sri is 6 a day then tried to supplement with small amount to if soft foods , poached eggs on cheap nasty bread toasted lots of butter. 

Hope this  helps Hazel x

Hi Hazel, thank you for your advice. I am doing all those things except not getting enough calories in. Supplementing with Forticeps drinks. Will the ulcers and sore mouth go? It feels such along time.

Seamouse

You will get better. Have a look at your Duraphat. It has SLS which can cause ulcers in susceptible people so an irradiated mouth is particularly at risk. It’s just a thought. I can’t use it at all even 19 months on and brush with Oranurse. Have you any gelclair and Caphosol left to rinse your mouth out? They are both healing. Check with your GP that you don’t have oral thrush which thrives on just the high sugar foods you are taking. Thrush doesnt always manifest itself as white mucous membranes. Perhaps your GP could give you Fluconazole anyway. 
Best of luck and I hope it all gets better soon. 

Hi they will go eventually as your mouth heals ,but you do need to maintain calories to heal so its a vicious circle.Do up your calories as much as you can I was on 6 ensures at yiur stage plus trying small amounts of soft foods. You may also be suffering from radiation fatigue which is very debilitating.Theres an article written by Dr Peter Harvey After treatment what happens next you can find it online it’s worth a read. He was a cancer consultant at my hospital .It explains what your body is going through and how to help it 

Hazel x

Here's the link 

https://www.workingwithcancer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/After-the-treatment-finishes-then-what.pdf

Thank you Dani I must save that ! H x

Hi Seamouse

My radio therapy finished at the end of march, I had pains for about 3 months after the treatment, ulcers, sore throat, hard to swallow, hard to open my mouth. It will get better, but it'll take a while, 6 weeks is too early. 5 months after my treatment I still have this ulcer that's taking too long to go! Weight wise, I was going through 6-8 fortisip shakes a day, only come off them about a month ago actually, got addicted, but they helped with the weight. Also, use / get gelclair, this stuff helped me a lot, it soothes the mouth, it helps things to heal. And get some vitamin D, it'll help with the immune system

Best wishes, hope you recover quick!

Hi Seamouse. I know this is an old post but do you mind my asking how you progressed with the soreness? I’m just over 6 weeks post RT on my tonsil and am beginning to wonder whether or not my throat is ever going to not feel sore. Although I’m off Oramorph, and am using mainly just paracetamol to control pain, progress is just SO slow! 

Hi Marc 

if you are still sore why aren’t you still on the morphine?  It’s a pain killer. We are all different but a lot of us are significantly improved at 12 weeks. I was on morphine till 12 weeks albeit reduced that’s for sure 

if you’re dead set against morphine you could use cocodamol instead of the paracetamol  

I thought I’d never get better especially as I had an ulcer running down the whole side of my tongue but slowly slowly things got better 

Thanks Dani. That’s helpful. I’m not exactly in agony any more, so progress is being made, but the soreness is persistent. Like yours, it is ulcerated. (The surgery was a walk in the park compared to this. 3 weeks afterwards I had no pain and was eating quite normally again.) The paracetamol keeps it manageable but it’s just sooo slow. I’m wondering whether it will ever feel ‘normal’ again. 
Thanks for your reassurance though