Response to a fellow sufferer
This is an e-mail that Viv sent to a user of this site whose Mother has been diagnosed. He felt it might be useful for anyone reading:
Hello Yuriy,
Thank you very much for contacting me, sorry for taking so long to reply, I’ve been away travelling/working.
I hope things are progressing well for your Mother. Today the technology is amazing and I’m quite confident your Mother, with your help and the support of friends and Family will be fine.
You DO need to read my postings from the beginning, because I do list everything that I used and experienced as they happened to me over the two months of my treatments. More importantly how my Wife helped me cope with life after the treatments.
Please remember that I am not a Doctor and that this treatment of radiotherapy does affect everybody in different ways.
Just this morning I replied to somebody about his wife’s dry mouth problems and this may be of some assistance to you and your Mother. I have pasted this response to you below. If there is anything specific that you think I maybe able to assist you with please do not hesitate to ask me.
“Please remember that I’m not a doc and can only suggest things from my own experiences. You should also consider that the radiation treatment affects everybody differently, so there does not seem to be a definitive answer to all the problems. My specialist says that there are the basic things to do and then it really is trying many different things to see what best suits you.
According to the specialists, the radiation definitely kills off the good cells that generate saliva etc. it also reduces the size of your airways passages, the size of the tubes between your ears, nose and throat. ( I now experience ear-ache when flying, especially at take-off and landing) and have to take a special nose inhaler with me on the plane.
So the problem your Wife experiences with itching throat and difficulty breathing seems to be quite common. I have something similar and water is my constant companion. In most instances I have to help the food down by taking a sip of water when swallowing. (Things have improved and this has also been supplemented by wine as well) Even though things have improved considerably for me, I still experience the odd attack of choking and coughing spasms.
I have also found it extremely helpful to try and constantly generate saliva in my mouth, which definitely helps keep the throat and airways clear. I use saliva stimulating toothpaste, mouth washes, gum gel and chewing gum. The best ones for me are the “Biotene” and “Bioextra” ranges. Biotene works best for me and they have everything from toothpaste to chewing gum. Because the radiation plays havoc with your teeth and gums, making chewing anything solid very difficult, the chewing gum is probably not that great until some time later after the treatment is completed.
Another possible solution to the saliva problem is the “Saliwell Medical System”, a device produced in Israeli. This little bag of tricks has helped me no end and I do believe that it has help stimulate my saliva glands so much so that I think that the glands are now producing some natural saliva in my mouth. It’s not the final solution but it has made all the difference to my daily way of life. A link to their site can be found on my last update, which I can definitely recommend to anybody experiencing dry mouth.”
My very best advice to you at these early stages of her treatment is to get as much advice, information and support from your own Doctor, Dentist, The Radiotherapist Specialist and the Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist. These people can tell you what precautions your Mom needs to take and what medication is available in your country, very very important is be sure that she looks after her teeth and gums.
This is a very difficult time for her, look after her and give her all the love and support you possibly can.
Let me know how things are going,
Ciao,
Viv.