Diver with Throat Cancer

[inetjnky]

Greetings! I’m not sure if this belongs in this forum so I apologize if not, however I’m trying to gain a bit of information. I’m currentky PADI rescue certified but have been out of diving since the mid 90s where I dove several thousand dives while stationed in Hawaii with the Navy. I was about to get back into diving with taking a refresher as well as a side mount, drysuit, and mixed gas class. While waiting for the spring to arrive I was recently diagnosed with stage 4 tonsil cancer which my doctor firmly believes I’ll be able to beat successfully. Ill be undergoing surgery to remove the cancer from my mouth and lymph nodes on my right side, and my doctor has said there will be a significant soft palette defect as a result of the surgery. He said he will try to do his best to cover the hole leading up to my sinus with cheek fat to rebuild the soft palate but it won’t be as soft as my original soft palate will be. My question is, are there divers in the community who are able to successfully dive with an oral defect such as this? I’d love to get back into the water again someday. Thank you.

Jason

 

[uncfnp]

Wishing you the very best of luck in a very difficult situation. I do recommend you request this moved to the medical forum since it is a fairly advanced medical question. To do this just hit the report button at the bottom and type your request into the dialogue box.

I should imagine that the question will be can you seal the nasopharynx well enough to breathe solely through the regular. You should be able to answer this question post surgery with a mask and snorkle in the pool. My uninformed thought is if the hard palette is intact you should be able to dive. Again, in this area the previous info is just from a fellow diver.

@doctormike @Duke Dive Medicine and I haven’t seen him on recently but @DocVikingo !

 

[doctormike]

Not my area of ENT, but as long as you don't have any weakness or scarring around your lips (making it hard to hold a regulator), I don't see why diving would be a problem. Even if the palate wasn't intact, that shouldn't affect diving - you don't need to seal off the nasopharynx to breath through your mouth.

One issue that patients with this kind of surgery have is velopharyngeal insufficiency - leakage of air up into the nasopharynx despite efforts to close it off. This results in a "hypernasal" voice, especially when making sounds that require closure of that valve, like "K". But since your mask completely seals off your nose, I wouldn't think that it would matter. There is no pressure gradient between the oropharynx and nasopharynx in any case. But as uncfnp mentioned, a quick trip to a pool with a mask and snorkel will answer that question for sure..!

Good luck with your treatment, and hope that you get back in the water soon...

 

[Nic.]

A friend of mine just went through the same thing, and I'm so happy to say he is doing well!!
He is not back to diving yet, as he has been continuing therapy, but his soft palate is continuing to heal and his voice is sounding less and less like "Donald duck" as he puts it. The medical team is confident he can return to diving soon.
very much hoping your treatment goes well and your back in it soon!

 

[uncfnp]

Not my area of ENT, but as long as you don't have any weakness or scarring around your lips (making it hard to hold a regulator), I don't see why diving would be a problem. Even if the palate wasn't intact, that shouldn't affect diving - you don't need to seal off the nasopharynx to breath through your mouth.

One issue that patients with this kind of surgery have is velopharyngeal insufficiency - leakage of air up into the nasopharynx despite efforts to close it off. This results in a "hypernasal" voice, especially when making sounds that require closure of that valve, like "K". But since your mask completely seals off your nose, I wouldn't think that it would matter. There is no pressure gradient between the oropharynx and nasopharynx in any case. But as uncfnp mentioned, a quick trip to a pool with a mask and snorkel will answer that question for sure..!

Good luck with your treatment, and hope that you get back in the water soon...

Thanks for the correction doctormike.

 

[Gary miyakawa]

I know this is an old post but I'm sure it's still current for many. I had throat cancer in 2016 (HPV16) with 30 radiation and 5 Chemo sessions. We caught it very early but still, it kicked my ass. I was able to return to diving in 2017 after getting a medical all clear. The one thing that happened to me is the need for moisture in the mouth during a dive. The radiation tends to kill off about 35% of your saliva glands so you have constant dry mouth.

To get around this, I modified a camel pack back pack that I add water to (and yes, I've been accused of putting OTHER clear liquids). I then, at depth (and I've used this at up to 100') I pull out the regulator and sip a little bit of water and put the reg back in.. It works well after you get used to the "process". It's not hard. That has been the only long term issue from the throat cancer I have had.

I just wanted to post this so people who might be going thru what I have, know, there IS a light at the end of the cancer tunnel and you CAN, in many cases, look forward to many more years of diving.

btw, I was 63 when I diagnosed so.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, please post/pm me here. I'm working on a video that goes thru the whole Cancer ordeal but it's not ready yet!

Cheers and just remember...

It's always Dive Dive Dive time somewhere!

Gary Miyakawa