Geri

It looks like Richard's specs are about the same as mine were with BOT. The facility where I underwent treatment had me to select a set time for radiation each day and I picked 10:30 AM which worked great for me. I think the time you select is more of a personal choice for whatever fits your situation better. On my chemo days I would just go straight to the "chemo suite" following radiation where I would be until usually about 4 to 4:30 PM after starting around 11 AM.

The PEG was a real pain in the neck but was a necessary evil. In fact, the center where I was treated would not treat a patient for H&N cancers unless they agreed to the PEG to begin with. Once I was 3 to 4 weeks into treatment I saw exactly what they told me about. I had to do all intake by tube for about 3 weeks but I would always try and drink as much water as I could by mouth just to keep the swallowing tissues active and avoid atrophy. I was warned about such a problem that could require need for a throat stretching procedure down the road. Just the thought of that kept me drinking that water every day! One bit of advice for Richard regarding that tube. . .tell him that if at anytime he has it uncapped for feeding or cleaning and feels an urge to cough, put the cap on that thing first! I, or rather my wife who was in the line of fire, found out the hard way!

Good luck and both of you just hang in there, take plenty of notes and follow all of the instructions and it will not be as bad as you might be anticipating.

Bill D.