Hey Tim,

Jack is now 5 months post radiation/4 months post the last chemo and his swallowing has gotten MUCH better in the past month. His taste is completely back. For him the 3 month mark was a big turning point, but it's different for everyone. Jack also supplements what he's eating with 2 cans of his formula every day to get the calories in. I think David has a good tip on that one with the VHC.

The sore throat is common, the muscles are getting back into shape by breaking down and moving that food. Think of is as another exercise to do.

Like David Jack's a little sensitive to red sauces that are spicey but even that is getting better. We were in Baltimore last night and he successfully ate crab cakes, a half a rack of ribs (always get extra sauce for everything), crab dip with nachos, and a nice room temperature chocolate stout - a $.99 happy hour helps motivate you to experiment.

I swear it will get better, and you have great tender moist BBQ in GA. Keep the water bottle handy or sit next to someone willing to share. The dry mouth is Jack's biggest problem with swallowing so the surgeon sent him for acupuncture to see if that would stimulate the saliva. Stay tuned on that one, it takes several treatments to know if it's doing any good. Don't forget things like salivert, and the biotene products.

David, glad to hear you're laying off those killer peanuts...Jack bought some on an impulse last month and promptly choked as well. Some things just have to wait a little longer.

It sounds like we're all making progress considering where we were a few months ago.

Regards JoAnne