Topic: Side Effects from Chemo - Throat issues

Thanks for the advice Kleenex!  Again, as no one responds, I begin to think there is no answer or resolution to this. I'll try other postings. I appreciate your caring!

Appreciate the thoughts.  Talked to someone who works with a gastro Dr. that said perhaps I am not producing enough saliva (due to chemo), since having food in my mouth keeps the feeling at bay.  I may need to wait it out.  Another survivor said that she had to had her esophagus stretched after chemo and radiation. I have never heard of that. Why would it need stretched -what "shrunk" it?

After treatment 5 my neighbor noticed my white tongue and I called the Dr. office about it. The nurse called in a prescription for a rinse for thrush. I used it but really didn't notice any difference in the way my throat felt. My throat is not sore - it just feels like something is always coming up.

Thanks for the advice - I do try to drink plenty of water each day.  I've also decided to limit myself to a very strict diet to avoid foods that are on the list to stay away from when you have acid reflux. I got a refill for the protonix as well.  I STILL have the lump in my throat, but the feeling of something coming up is a bit less. I'm halfway through radiation - I'm not burned, but I have very red itchy blotches that I'm putting a cortisone cream on. Do I have to wait until radiation is done before seeing a gastroenterologist?

I experienced some throat disorders towards the end of my 6 rounds of Taxotere chemo.  I started having difficulty swallowing food such as bread and chunks of meat.  It was like the muscles in my throat were weakened or semi-paralyzed and it took several attempts to swallow or I had to drink liquids to make the food go down.  It was that kind of sudden panicky feeling when the food got "lodged"  halfway down, but eventually I could swallow it. 

After my final round of Taxotere I also started having episodes of intermittent or spasmodic dysphonia.... losing my voice temporarily.  It was really strange, I would start to talk and my voice would just fade out and then come back a few words later.  It appears that the chemo had some impact on my vocal cords.  By the time I went to see an ENT about a month after completing chemo, my symptoms had resolved on their own. Thrush or stomatitis is a common side effect as is heartburn or GI irritation, but there is very little documentation on difficulty swallowing or speaking as a result of chemo.

Having had Taxol chemo with my first BC dx and then Taxotere with my second, my peripheral neuropathy has definitely progressed.  If the chemo can cause disruption of the nerve endings in our feet which results in pain, numbness and strange sensory changes, why can't the same thing happen to our throats and larynx?  Might at least be worth a little research by the pharmaceutical companies.