Patients who receive certain types of medications to treat cancer (chemotherapy) can often experience severe irritation and inflammation in the mouth and throat, a side effect called mucositis. When mucositis is severe, patients have great pain when swallowing. This side effect can require the physician to stop or change the dose of chemotherapy to allow the mouth to heal and to reduce the recurrence and severity of mucositis. Current treatments for mucositis include pain medication, antibiotics, prescription mouth rinses, and ice. However, despite these approaches, many patients often suffer moderate or severe mucositis, especially when they have to take multiple cycles of certain types of chemotherapy.