Saliva

One idea that comes to mind is Guaifenesin (Mucinex) it thins and loosens mucus.  My elderly mother has asthma and sometimes gets a rattle in her chest, despite no cold.  The doctor prescribes guaifenesin for a week or two at a time to help break up this rattle.  You might check with your doctor to see if this could also help your husband in a similar way, worth a try!  The side effects are minimal taken with plenty of water, has been effective for my mom!  Hope this helps!

Swanee 

Dry mouth, mucositis, even oral ulcers, and things having a poor or bad taste has become more recognized as a potential side effect to immunotherapy.  The "dry" feeling sounds like what your husband is dealing with – though each of us who have had it describe it a little differently.  I had pretty significant problems with this when I was on nivo and though I tried many things, I can't say that anything helped tremendously.  However, once off the treatment things gradually got better….though it did take time and even once better my oral issues would flare up periodically (still do) but become much less severe over time.  Hopefully, your husband will begin to see improvements soon.  Oddly enough, for me, as well as other little cancer patients on more typical chemo agents, lemonade, dill pickles and other foods along those lines…taste good and sort of cut through the mucus and dry mouth issues….though it seems like they would burn. Perhaps your husband may like them as well.  I wish you both well.  Celeste

After my third combo dose my saliva glands stopped working. I tried every over the counter mouth moisterizer there is. The doctor prescribed me artifical saliva which worked for about 5 seconds. This continued for 11 weeks. I had to carry a bottle of water with me everywhere as my mouth and throat would get so dry I would choke. I also carried a bottel of water with baking soda and salt to keep my mouth rinsed out. During this time my breath became horrible and I had to chew gum or mints just to be able to speak to other people. I would get up through the night to rinse my mouth. Some times I would wake up with my tounge stuck to the roof of my mouth. It has been 8 months since my saliva glands started working again but for the first week after a dose of nivo my saliva still gets really thick. During the 11 weeks I had to change my diet to soups or dishes with gravies or sauces. Also during this time my taste buds became wierd. Anything with salt was so salty I could not eat it. Also anything with sugar was like eating sugar with a spoon. To this day I still have issues with sugar tasting extra sweet. I had lost 32 pounds during this time, I called it the melanoma diet, all you had to do to lose weight was just to wake up.