Hi Joann - welcome to the family. It's unfortunate your husband is having trouble eating this early in treatment. That happens to some patients. So, for him a PEG tube may be truly needed.

What's important to never forget, while on the PEG tube he needs to continue swallowing every day even if it hurts. It's easy to stop swallowing to avoid the pain and to rely on the tube for nutrition. But, doing so he can actually lose the long term ability to swallow, which puts him on the tube for life.

So, even if using the tube to eat, he still needs to drink water normally and force himself to swallow every day.

It will be bad for awhile, worst at the end of treatment until several weeks after treatment ends, then start to get better. The getting better part can take awhile. I was told treatment takes 7 weeks usually, and you feel bad for pretty much 7 weeks after treatment ends.

I don't want to sugar coat any of this; it's tough. But, I also don't want your husband feeling like once treatment is over he will start to feel better tomorrow or next week. It takes longer than that.

Now, that you know, you can better be prepared to help him get through this.

take care, we are here with both of you every step of the way.

Tony

P.S. If possible, get him to join the forum himself. Him reading the forum will make him think of questions he wants to ask better than if he gets all his information from you. It will lighten your load as a caregiver also.