I am now almost a year to the day after my treatment for tongue cancer caused by hpv. 2 rounds of chemo and 6 weeks of radio and pet scan results show me cancer free. I’m obviously delighted with the results.
I am experiencing some long term side effects and wondered if anyone had and advice to help with the symptoms.
I get a lot of mucus when lying down to sleep and when I waken I cough up a lot of mucus.
sometimes it’s worse and have to cough up during the night which is affecting sleep.
consultant basically said it’s part of the gig due to the radiotherapy.
I wondered if anyone could offer any advice or treatments to take to help.
thank you,
Riki.
I had the same treatment as you.
I found the coughing and mucus cleared up after about a year and a half. Coughing in meetings at work was a pain, but I didn’t find anything that helped other than water. I’m 2.5 years out of treatment now and don’t get it at all now, so there is hope on the horizon.
Good luck
Rachel
Good morning Riki, my husband is now 18ish mths post treatment and has still a dry mouth ,especially in the morning,he wakes up sometimes in the night with a caugh,or acid reflux,that he ends up sleeping upright. He always has a bottle of water near by,even out and about. The same when eating,also some food he manages without caughing and sneezing. However,we did get told at some point that this is one of the more common lasting side effects,caused by treatment. My hubby pretty much has excepted the "new normal" and just gets on with it ,but I can see it frustrates him.. Persevering might be just the key here. All the best with what comes your way. Fellow wife Mel x
Coughing and mucus eventually lessens, loads of hydration and the use of Biotene gel helps.
I was prescribed Caphosol soluble tablets for some time to help with mucus thinning and mouth irritation.
3 years out of CRT and I still use Biotene at night and hydrate regularly...chewing gum that contains Xylitol helps...
''Xylitol is a natural sweetener that is widely used in nasal sprays and rinses in the UK to help manage mucus''...Buy the chewing gum cheaply in Aldi/Lidl.
Michael
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