Hello Daisy 100 and thank you for posting,

I am sorry to learn of your partner's situation, this must be a difficult time.

The cancer can cause difficulty swallowing and to help the body pass food more easily it will make more saliva which can cause people to bring up thick mucus. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to manage. Hopefully, once your partner has his operation this will improve.

As cancer information nurses not involved in his care, it is difficult for us to be able to advise your partner.

I wondered if he has been allocated a specialist nurse (CNS) to discuss this with. As they will know his situation they can assess him and advise him, they may also be able to prescribe medication to help if needed. If he does not have a nurse specialist he could try speaking to the specialist by calling their secretary or perhaps his GP.

I am sorry I cannot be more helpful on this occasion. Please feel free to get back to us if you need any more information or support.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Take care, all the best

Jemma

Hello Daisy. Has your partner had chemo to shrink it before the op? I know that milky foods can make the saliva/mucous worse so avoiding that can help. Warm (not hot) drinks can help as well. 

My partner has been prescribed Scopoderm patches. It’s a circle type plaster about the size of a penny and it is mainly used for travel sickness. Its worked wonders. All the secretions have gone. He was suffering so bad before these xx

Wow that sounds great. So can your partner eat better now he has the patches?