Jennifer,

I also enjoy cooking (and eating!) and found radiation and the months following to be a horrific challenge at mealtime. I didn't have a PEG and was determined to try to keep my weight up as much as possible. As frustrating as it was, I would regularly scour every section of the grocery store looking for things that were soft enough and moist enough so that I might have a chance of getting them down my throat (after numbing my mouth with the swish-and-spit stuff). I know it's not a sensory delight to have to go through that kind of process at mealtime, but it was a truly pleasant surprise when I gradually began to find that my taste buds were coming back, and eventually my salivary function improved as well. It was a welcome relief when I could finally go out to a great restaurant and order whatever I felt like without worrying about whether my mouth could handle it and how it might taste.

I hope your husband can recognize that eating soft foods will at least help his swallowing function recover and possibly enhance whatever nutrition he is getting now. Hopefully he'll start to see improvement and get back to the point where he can really enjoy eating again.

Cathy