Hi areeba,

First, welcome to OCF. I think you will find the people here to be helpful. I would suggest starting your own thread so the responses are all to you. To do this you go the forum you want your thread in. Maybe you would want "currently in treatment" go to the "topic options" tab and click on "new topic"

Has your boyfriend been seen at a cancer center? Who has been doing the surgeries?

Areeba, your man sure has been thru a lot. I feel so bad for the both of you. This has to be harder maybe on you then it does on him. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you , but I am in the dark. Most Hospitals have the treatments for free if you can't afford to pay for them. Talk to the Social Workers at the Hospitals. They can fill you in and get you help. You can even agree to make amonthly payments of $5.00 and they will have to take that. JUst as long as it is an honest effort on your part. Good luck and I will pray for both of you in church this morning... Jim

I just copied your post to my RO (radiation Oncologist) at Moffitt to see what he has to say. I went out on a limb assuming he was not treated at Moffitt as your post just didn't sound like he had. I have asked him if he might be able to see your boyfriend. I don't even know if that's permitted within Moffitt's guidelines but I thought it is worth the try.

I'll let you know what he's says.

Thank you for your replies. no my david has not been to moffitt. his insurance is share of cost medicaid he has to accumulate dr bills monthly over $1024.00 before medicaid will pay for all of it.otherwise he has to pay. A lot of dr. will not see him for this reason. Tomarrow i'm on the phone and the pc again to fine help.I still have hope I know there is something out there. Thank You .

Has he tried to get qualified for the County Health Program where he lives. I got an employee of my wife's qualified and then was able to get what they call an Out Of Network Referral and got her treated at Moffitt under the free county program. Not only did she not have to pay anything, she actually was given $500.

Hi Mark,
Just curious, what is your own reason for avoiding the peg?

My other was advised to get it in by week 4 or he would have regrets. As it is, the procedure took only a couple of hours, he was in a bit of pain when the anesthetic wore off but that is when you scream for pain relief [a shot of morphine worked for him]. The next morning he was shown how to feed, then had his chemo. As long as you look after it - flushing, turning, cleaning, within 3-4 weeks it should be fine. Your appetite may decrease for many reasons, therefore the peg is a fantastic invention for supplying supplements & nutrition to the body & making you feel full, also taking liquid meds, then you can relax from worrying about eating until your mouth begins to heal although it is important to try to keep the muscles in your throat active, even with warm tea. You don't need to go under again to have it removed either.

I wish someone had of advised us to eat big before week 4 or even removal of the teeth, Rod was 75kgs in March, went as low as 62kgs during treatment, is now about 66kgs. [sorry not in lbs!! :)]

Another tip is to always keep your pain managed & under control - you can't become addicted to the powerful morphine drugs or cocaine mouthwash if you are taking it for pain, so if you aren't satisfied, speak up with your oncologists.

Let us know how you go, good luck, thoughts are with you & your new grandbaby!!

Jeanna