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Throat cancer voice and vocal cords

1969kirst
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Diagnosed at the age of 30 radiotherapy for a month,  now 56 started having issues  with my voice, start talking then voice goes, recently been seen by consultant saying i have webbing on vocal cords, through radiotherapy, now 26 years later having issues with voice, having speech therapy they have said late effects of radiotherapy as I'm getting older muscles get weaker but they have not come across a case like me ,where it's affecting my voice now 26 years later, have you come across any case like me,  they said radiotherapy was harsh back in 1999 not like now and how it has changed .

  • Hello and thank you for your enquiry,

    I am sorry to learn of your situation. This must not be easy.

    The radiotherapy techniques have changed a lot since when you had your treatment and are much more targeted to avoid healthy tissue as much as possible.

    It sounds like your situation is rare, and I can appreciate that this is difficult. We talk to many people about many different things, and so it is difficult to say how many people we may have spoken to in a similar situation to you.

    I was unsure if there is a radiotherapy late effects clinic where you are receiving your therapy. If this is not the case, you could speak with your GP to see if they can refer you to one locally. I hope this helps in some way.

    If you would like to talk things through with one of the nurses on the helpline, we are available between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday and the freephone number to call is 0808 800 4040.

    Jemma

  • Offline in reply to CRUK Nurse Jemma

    Thank you so much for your reply,  speech therapy have not mentioned this, they're helping with my breathing etc as the webbing has made my airway smaller.  I will speak to my speech therapists /GP to see about late effects. The 2 speech therapist's i see are just trying to preserve my voice,  surgery has been spoken about with the consultant but 70% success rate and most times they abort at start of  surgery if the stent won't go in . Thank you once again. 

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