Tongue cancer

Hi Shazz  sadly it’s a common side effect I spent weeks spitting into tissues or grossly putting fingers in mouth to pull the stuff out. I had a humidifier for bedroom and a nebuliser which hospital have me I used  up to 6  a day. Plus carbusistine to thin the mucus down. You can steam over a bowl of water with towel over head as well. Don’t put any oils ir anything in either hot water ir humidifier v it dies go as quickly as it came often replaced by the  dreaded fry mouth. Mine lasted up until around week 8  of recovery some  go quicker some  longer. Well done on getting to week 5. Remember after treatment finishes recovery isn’t straight away it does take time. 
any questions  just ask. 
Hazel 

There's no real way too stop it. If it's thick and causing choking then thinning it with water whether it's steam or just drinking as Hazel says can make it more manageable. It's just a case of spitting it out. I carried wads of kitchen roll around with me and slept with a roll by my bedside. It went as quickly as it came. Salivary glands make two sorts of saliva. Water with enzymes and mucous. The watery bit gets knocked out first by the RT and you get left with thick mucous for a while. That's why it happens. It will get better

Thankyou for your help. He has tried the steaming but didn't seem to help much. He is also struggling to drink any water as swallowing very difficult hence everything is going through the feeding tube in his tummy. Guess just spitting it out is all he can do for now plus using the mouthwash 3 or 4 times a day? 

Thanks Hazel, sounds like no easy answer to this is there? Awful for him & for me watching him suffering. Guess we just need to ride it out & hope things improve in time.

HubShazz sadly there isn’t it’s a case of riding out the storm. I was putting at least 3 litres of water in my my feeding tube every day. 
Maybe try nebuliser ? 
hazel x

Thanks Dani, he has been doing the steaming but says "it doesn't work". I'm not sure he stays under the towel long enough! He is spitting a lot of it out which is not.pleasant for him (or me) but I guess that's better to be out! 

Thanks

Shazz 

Horrid but spitting is  what we do. There’s no other way. There’s no magic remedy. Just time.