David, thanks for the tip regarding Carnation Instant Breakfast VHC, 560 cal. I will follow up on that. I have been using CVS's house brand Ensure knockoff, "Essentials Plus", 350 cal, $7.49 per six-pack -- comes out to $1.25/serving.

Because it's so hard to intake any nutrition, I have been taking barely enough to maintain weight: in my case, 4 cans/day = 1400 calories, plus 1/2 gal water per day. That's about as much as I can choke down. It would obviously be a benefit if I could get more calories for the same effort.

Regarding HPV: Because my other risk factors are so low, my oncologist and radiation oncologist both strongly suspect HPV. However, no test was ordered because the result was deemed irrelevant to treatment decisions, therefore not cost-justified.

Age 61, stg IV SCC (tonsillar, invasive at back of tongue, spread to neck lymph nodes); Dx Nov. 2008, nonsmoker since 1974, very light drinker, no other health issues; no surgery, no PEG, 4 cycles chemo (TPF), then weekly chemo + 7 weeks radiation (2 per day) incl IMRT = 70 doses total, done 6/4/09