Yup....there's a chasm between those who promote the use of a PEG, and those who love the "wait and see". I started out at 97 lbs, so was glad that both my Onc and my DO said yes to a PEG before I started treatment. I got all thru rads without needing it, but the 3 chemo's I had after radiation took a toll in my mouth making eating/drinking impossible.

The one thing they did instill in me was a total fear of losing my ability to swallow....so even when I was getting 5FU along with the Cisplatin, I managed to swallow L-Glutamine mixed with water every day. It wasn't much, but it was enough to never lose the ability.

If you don't have 20 lbs to lose then I'd insist...in the beginning one of my biggest fears was dying of starvation while I was trying to kick cancer.

p