change in voice

[Celina]

Thank you, Annemarie and Lisa for responding to my post below. I was wondering if anyone has experienced a change in voice. My sister's voice has slowly been changing over the last few months and she told me that while on vacation she couldn't speak at all for 15 minutes or so. I was wondering if this could be a side effect from the chemo or something else???I told her that I would post this question on her behalf.

[*_Annemarie_*]

Hi,
I am glad I can be of help. I did not get a change of voice and I have never been short of words. She may want to get a work up from a neurologist. I went to check things out and make sure it did not go to my spine. i had a spinal tap which may be another avenue to take. I was fine but we wanted to be certain.

[Lyn]

Hi, I can relate to that, mine at first was from lymph glands pressing up against my vocal chords, the next time it was shortness of breath from my heart pumping backwards, all came right after a while, this time my voice is changing from what I believe to be from dryness in the throat from the chemo and the damage done to the salive glands, usually first thing in the morning and then comes good, sometimes all day I am croakey, and if I answer the phone first thing in the morning, I get, you sound terrible so if I don't want visitors it is a plus. I can only assume it will get better now I am off the chemo but in the meantime I am using a toopaste for dry mouth and it usually helps, I still need to drink fluids when I eat some foods or it just gets stuck. Hope this is of help.

Love & Hugs Lyn

[*_Kathie in New Jersey_*]

My first chemo treatment- herceptin/taxol made me lose my voice. I don't know which one caused it or was it the steroids but my voice came back as strong as ever once my treatment course was done. Hopefully the same will happen to your sister. I felt so isolated like that. I couldn't answer the phone , was difficult going to the store ect. Good luck to your sister

Kathie

[Celina]

Thanks for your replies. She saw doc. today. He is ordering scan to make sure that it is nothing other than side effects from the chemo.
As it turns out, I thought she had completely lost her voice for 15 minutes, but it was that she couldn't talk for 15 minutes. The doctor thinks she had a stroke and has ordered an emergency MRI to check on her brain tumors. Her vision, which has improved following WBR, has worsened to the point where she can no longer read again. She is scared...we are all afraid to hear the results. What will she do if there is more growth? Gammaknife has already be ruled out.