mamasbabygirl Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 I have been reading these posts for weeks now and have prayed for many of you and your families. Fall54, the loss of your brother made me cry and I hope that you are doing well. I have a question. Mom has been taking radiation treatments for about a month and a half now and she has had throat pain, but this weekend she couldn't even eat ice cream. She drinks that stuff that is supposed to numb her enough to be able to swallow, but this weekend has me very concerned. Is this normal? Should she be doing something different? Thanks for any replies. Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamasbabygirl Posted June 28, 2004 Author Share Posted June 28, 2004 I thought I'd add a little about us. I am 31, have 2 sons (ages 2 and 4) and live close to mom. Mom is only 49 and will turn 50 in July. We found out about the suspicion of lung cancer while away in Tennessee for a girl's weekend getaway-what a shocker! Thanks, Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebbie Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 The throat pain is SOOOOOO normal (unfortunately!!!) Everyone seems to experience it to a different degree, however, depending on where exactly radiation is taking place. My radiation field effected my esophogus pretty badly and there were days all I could do was sip on tea and soup w/ mushed up crackers. Lukewarm foods seemed to go down easier than anything too hot or too cold. The numbing meds can help, temporarily, but I had trouble getting them down -- couldn't stand the taste! I do remember that first thing in the morning, even room temperature water would hurt going down....I had to take very slow sips with a pause in between until I could swallow it ok and THEN I could try to eat something for breakfast. I will say that as difficult as it is to eat, she must eat SOMETHING. She needs to keep up her strength. I also had radiation and chemo at the same time -- and chemo seems to intensify the side effects of the radiation. (*sigh...*) It is very easy to get dehydrated while doing these treatments together (which happened to me several times) so make sure she drinks plenty of fluids and if she seems to be disoriented, headachy, or feels "fuzzy", talk to her doctor or nurse. All it will take it a bag of IV fluids to get her back on track. The GOOD thing is that this pain WILL pass....of course, when you are in the middle of it, it doesn't seem to matter that it is only temporary! If I can give you any more info, feel free to PM me at any time and tell your mommy to hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bean_si (Not Active) Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Yes, it's very normal. I ended up with a trip to the ER as my problem got quite bad. The ER doctor blasted my oncologist for not telling me about a prescription called Magic Mouthwash. That cleared the worse of it up. Even though I lecture about not eating sugars when you have cancer, I ended up eating lots of ice cream as it went down smoothly and tasted good. Like Hebbie, I could only sip a little at a time but kept trying as I knew I need to keep hydrated. Even that was hard. And I love water - well Zephyrhills water. I was used to regularly drinking 8 to 10 8oz. glasses of water a day. It's hard. It does pass although I doubt that thought will help your mom much at this time. Try to keep that in mind yourself and take care. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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