Question about throat cancer

kiminnc · 05-16-2004, 11:13 AM

Hi! I think that my mom might have throat cancer. Here are her symptoms: In Dec. 03 she had a cold and her voice got really scratchy, and would even lose it sometimes. Well she got over the cold in about a week, but her voice continues to come and go. Sometimes it is real high pitched, and sometimes it just stops in the middle of a word. Drinking or clearing her throat does not help. I am really worried about her. She has smoked since she was fifteen, and is now 59. She has been to an oral surgeon twice in the last two years for a suspicious white spot in her mouth, but he says he is not concerned right now, lets just keep an eye on it. Please give me any advice or opinions. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

angelsalive · 05-17-2004, 09:11 PM

Hi

I had throat cancer and mine started out like your friends with the scratchy, disappearing voice and sore throat. However when the ENT looked down my throat he said straight away that it was Throat Cancer before he even did a Biopsy on it. Apparently it is easy to see for them and it is very agressive. 3/4 of my voice box was covered and I had only had symptoms for 3 months.
But I hope your friend stays alert and not settle for a diagnosis that she is not happy with.

catsblueeyes1 · 05-18-2004, 11:53 AM

Hi,
I read your post and I am sorry that you are going through this worry. Please have her see an ENT. it may just be irritation but my husband went through
squamous cell carcinoma of the base of tongue and tonsil. he waited and when he was diagnosed he was stage 4. Thank God he is doing great but a
oral surgeon should not be the person to make a diagnosis, have her make an appointment with an ENT asap because the sooner a cancer is diagnosed the better the outcome. I hope this helps.

Debbie

lbp35 · 05-18-2004, 12:41 PM

Catsblueeyes,

Thank God your husband is okay. I will pray for his continued good health. If you can, could you please answer some questions for me. My good friend was also recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. He also waited and is stage 4, tumor on his left tonsil. He is very, very scared. He has just had his mask made and starts radiation today. He is 38 years old and cancer does run in his family. He had 1 chemo treatment in which he got very very sick. He also had a feeding tube put in his stomach.

He is afraid of the statistics he has heard but thanks God everyday it has not spread to his lungs or his blood. Any way could you please give me any advice that would help throughout this ordeal?Any advice would help.Did your husband get a bad sore throat? Did he lose weight?What did he eat? Thank you sooooo much for any help you can offer. I pray for him everyday, I believe God can give him strength.

He is small framed and the doctors are trying to keep him from losing weight.Please help! Thanks again and God bless!

catsblueeyes1 · 05-18-2004, 05:50 PM

Hi, I am sorry thst your friend is going through this, it is very scarey but tell him he needs to be focused and very strong! He will loose weight and have a hell of a sore throat for sometime. There is excellent anti-nausea medication out now, I think the name is zofran. My husband said it was the best for the nausea. My husbands treament was very aggressive, he was treated at University of Chicago's Head and neck cancer center. They literally saved his life. He was also fortunate that the cancer did not spread to other vital organs. Your friend will need to drink as much ensure as possible, Did he already have the feeding tube? My husband refused and made himself drink even through it hurt like hell. It may take your friend a little longer to recover because when you have a feeding tube you have eliminated the act of swallowing so it takes a little longer to start that process. The caregiver will need to be very supportive and they will also need support. Rick received induction chem-(6 weeks) then radiation and chemo therapy. At this stage he was in the hospital for 5 days then home for seven. When he was hospitalized is when he had radiation 2x per day and chemo therapy 24hours. then he had the off week at home where he had
IV saline solution 2X daily. I learned how to give him the IV through his port.
If your firend needs any help or has any questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer them. Just tell him to count the weeks down til it's over, because it will be and believe me the way you go into this makes a big difference!