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Hi David- Local oncologist did chemotherapy and radiation on my larynx cancer. Lost salivary and swallow. I need to get rid of feeding tube so I can eat real food again. Any ideas?
“Results: Eight clinical trials (725 participants) were analyzed, and 3 were included in a meta-analysis. All included trials had a high risk of bias, such as selection, performance, and detection bias.
Analysis indicated favorable effects of acupuncture regarding the improvement of xerostomia symptoms (MD −3.05, P = 0.02, 95% CI −5.58 to −0.52), compared with sham acupuncture. There were no significant differences between real acupuncture and sham acupuncture regarding the stimulated salivary flow rate (MD 0.37, P = 0.08, 95% CI −0.05 to 0.79) and unstimulated salivary flow rate (MD 0.09, P = 0.12, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.21), which were whole salivary flow rate.
Compared with no acupuncture (standard oral care, usual care, or no treatment), acupuncture produced a significant improvement in patient-reported xerostomia, without causing serious adverse effects. However, a Grading of Recommended Assessments analysis revealed that the quality of all acupuncture outcome measures was low.
Conclusion: The present meta-analysis and systematic review suggests that acupuncture is effective at improving xerostomia symptoms in cancer patients (larynx cancer) but not at objective salivary flow measurements. The evidence is still limited due to the low quality of the published studies…”
“Difficulty swallowing is called dysphagia. It means having trouble passing food or liquid down the throat. Some people may gag, cough, or choke when trying to swallow. Others may feel like food is stuck in their throat…
Relieving side effects is an important part of cancer care (larynx cancer) and treatment. This is called palliative care or supportive care. Talk with your health care team about any symptoms you have. Make sure to bring up any new symptoms or a change in your symptoms.
Many people also benefit from starting swallowing therapy before cancer treatment, especially those with cancer in the throat. Therapy may include:
Certain approaches may work better for some people than for others. This depends on the severity and cause of swallowing problems.
Try different types of food and ways of eating. Find what works best. And remember to eat a nutritious diet. Your food should have enough calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
Consider these tips: