I'm new here but I need advice.

My mother, who is 75 years old, just completed radiation/chemo and is back home. At first she was on a feeding tube, but that has been taken out.

She won't eat.

She keeps saying that nothing sounds good to her (no taste, saliva, etc..). Plus, everytime she tries to eat, the pain is unbearable still. She is also consuming very little fluids.

We don't want her to have to get another feeding tube, as she kept having trouble with it staying in and the hospital is not closeby at all.

She's also very depressed right now, talking about wanting to go *home* (heaven). We think that, in a way, the not eating is part of this also (the treatment was SO hard on her).

I don't know what to do. I would appreciate any and all words of advice or what brought anyone else out of this period of their treatment--coping skills would be great, or methods of alleviating the pain (the numbing mouthwash is too painful to even put in her mouth, she claims).

Thank you so much.