Hi all
I am currently 2 weeks post radiotherapy treatment. The side affects I have suffered with is swallowing some foods and a cough all the time. The cough is coming from the throat and coughing up a lot of phlegm. Any advice on how long the cough will be there and anything I can do to reduce the time I spend coughing.
Good evening Vickiephil, its still early days so i would tend to stick to food that does not require a lot of chewing or big portions, stick to soups, stews anything that is more liquid than it is solid, this will help with the swallowing, you could ask your Dr for food supplement drinks until things get a bit more comfortable eating and swallowing wise. You will get quite a bit of mucus/phlegm but it will gradually decrease, i used mouthwashes as it helped to break the mucus down, another idea is to put your head over a hot bowl of water as the steam will also help clear the tubes, you can buy nebulizers machines that deliver a mist via a facemask into the tubes helping to break up the mucus, Its the same principle as the hot water in a bowl but a bit more efficient but not as cheap, although i don't think they are that expensive nowadays as you can buy portable/small ones. I know what its like with the coughing as i had the same along with the mucus but i was lucky where the hospital loaned me a nebulizer. I hope this helps in some way, all the best for your continued recovery, take care.
Chris.x
Its sometimes not easy but its worth it !
