Pam,

First off Ethyol and Amifostine are the same thing, Ethyol is the brand name.

The side effects can be nasty and the shots sting a bit. A lot of people get nausea when taking it (I didn�t) the other problem is with skin rashes. I got this near the end of treatment and had to stop the Ethyol for the last two weeks. The rash I got was not very bad at all but the RN and the RO both wanted to stop because they said it could get much worse very quickly.

My Saliva is probably at about 60% and gives me no problem when I am up and active. When I sleep I tend to wake up with dry mouth on my right Side (treatment side).

I went to all liquid diet for two weeks. My last week of treatment and the week after that. I am still on soft foods three weeks out and take the Unsure twice a day to boost my calorie intake.

I was with others at the CCC who had the PEG and they said they worried about it way too much before getting it. After they got it they found it was not as bad as they thought. I was always prepared to get the PEG and was weighed every session. If I dropped more then 5 pounds the agreement I had with the head RN (She was tough as nails) was that we would do the PEG. I also had my wife riding me every meal to get those calories down.

Good luck and get the PEG if you think it will help in the least, Remember, I did not have chemo so I had little nausea.

Kelly