WOW! You guys are amazing. Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Your comments are helpful and as most of you must know, its always a comfort to know your not the only family in the world dealing with this. He is living with my parents right now and they are both his primary caregivers. I live 20 miles away and stop in several times a week to see him and am in constant contact with the whole family. I shared some of this with my parents who agree that they must get tougher. He went today for bloodwork and they gave him a few bags of saline to hydrate him. And you were all right, he felt much much better. What is this "magic mouthwash" I have read about and someone mentioned here? I asked and my bro hasn't heard of it. He is on the morphine patch for the pain right now. Not working great but making it bearable for him. thanks again!!!!