I don't have a bag attached to my tube - it just snaps shut when we're finished using it with the syringe. On the plus side, good news on the nausea front: yesterday at chemo, I spoke to the RO, who kindly gave me some samples of Zorfan (the meltaway kind) and since I am one of those uninsured types paying out of my pocket for every last thing and since Zorfan is hideously expensive (although I'd pay it willingly if it was the only thing that kept it under control, because quite frankly, the nausea part of all of this is the absolute worst for me), he also gave me a scrip for ativan, telling me that it would probably help to keep things under control for the duration, and it's cheaper. The brand name only cost me about $45 for 30 pills, something I can live with, even though I'll need three more refills to get through to the end of treatment. Only three more chemo rounds and 17 rads left, woo hoo!

As far as cleaning the tube, there's always something floating in it, as I said, which gives me the heebie jeebies. However, now that I'm not so queasy when putting something as simple as water down it to flush it, I find I can ensure there's nothing clinging to the sides by putting the tube almost horizontally after filling it with water, then gently rub the tube between my fingers to loosen up anything that has become stuck, and then shoot down some more water. Seems to be working at this point, which is good enough.

Gail, I wanted to thank you again for the Mucinex recommendation. This is working out really well to control the worst of the thickness, which causes me to gag from time to time. I might have to move up to two tabs rather than one as we get into the heart of treatment, but as long as it helps, that's all that matters. The only downer is that you can't crush these, and they're a little large so I sometimes have some issues getting them down. But then I buckle in and tell myself to swallow the damn things because in the end it's worth the temporary problem.

Cheers to all.