I am almost 2 months out from my radiation tx. My mouth is still sore and I am having trouble getting back to eating. I have a PEG so I am getting nutrition, but I want to get rid of the tube. I know everyone is different, but I am looking for advise on how to eat through the pain. How did some of you handle having mouth pain and making yourself eat? Any tips or advise would be appreciated.

I am on the long side of things, I had my peg for 13 months total, four of them during treatment and the rest during recovery from radiation and surgery. Everyone heals at a different rate, and gets different amounts of radiation or chemo, etc. There is no timeline that is the rule for everyone. My last 4 months were about 50/50 soft foods or soups and PEG

I am 6 mos out of treatments and still have my peg tube in also. Like yours, my mouth was quite sore at 2 mos out as well. The soreness went away pretty quickly but then the dry mouth phase set it. I tried eating small things but it just wouldn't work due to not having any saliva, so I started sipping on broths and drank a lot of water. I can now eat small portions of bean soups with lots of broth in them such as navy beans and pinto beans and some campbell's soups, but I can't eat any solid foods to speak of. I have to take small bites because of a fear of choking. I also try small portions of mashed potatoes and gravy. I, too, want my peg tube out but I'm afraid to have it removed until I know I can eat enough to sustain my nutrition. I consider it my safety net and my life line. My doctor says that he will take it out as soon as I can take my meds by mouth and eat better. As of now, I am still crushing my meds and taking them through my peg tube because the pills are too dry and too large to go down my throat. I worry that I will never be able to eat normally again because of the dry mouth not allowing for break down of foods, but everyone ahead of me says it will get better and that I will eat normally again. I guess it will happen when the time is right for me. As Brian mentioned, everyone heals differently so try to be patient and hang in there. Use this time to rest and let your body heal. I will tell you like everyone tells me...it will get better and you will get through this!

canned chilled peaches were my staple from Costco in 5 gallon cans. Slippery, weyt, and cold that felt good. Wet scrambled eggs. Baby food.... Slowly you keep trying, you rinse lots of things down with water, and it gets better. But the process is slow. Don't give up. Keep experimenting. Don't get frustrated. Healing takes time, and swallowing well again takes practice, and wet foods.

Thanks for your encouragement and tips. If you learn one thing when dealing with the big C it is patience. I am still learning. I will be patient with myself and keep trying different things. I can do yogurt and very thin oatmeal, but with my new tongue it is hard to get things going in the right direction at times. It is good to have those who have passed on this road to give us new ones advise.

Richmond girl,

I drank a ton of Carnation VHC. I tried to get about 3000 cals a day initially. Try fruit cocktail, blended beef stew, blended bananas with milk and choc syrup, blended anything, pancakes and sunnysideup eggs with plenty of syrup, mashed potatoes w/ gravey, rice and black bean soup. That was early on....

Now 16 months post Tx and I eat ANYTHING I want and lately I don't need to be attached to a liquid source. For instance, I remember putting a deshelled peanut in my mouth 4 months post Tx and I thought I was going to expire before I could walk around the front of my house to get to my water bottle. Now I eat peanuts and cookies without liquids. I even ate a slice of pizza the other day in my car without any liquid and actually thought it tasted better without constantly having to wash the bites down.

My point....as you say be patient....things will slowly improve and you will be posting your success stories to newbies in no time.

Have you tried any puddings? Vanilla and banana pudding are pretty easy to eat too. I am struggling with eating too and must depend on the PEG tube. For me, I eat yogurt and puddings. Soup is too salty and burns my throat.

Do you take pain medication, or use magic mouthwash? That will make eating easier.