The PEG is a flashpoint because even doctors are divided on its utility. As DavidCPA noted, it's easy enough to find both documentation for the position that getting PEG can lead to post TX swallowing difficulties as well as for the position that without a PEG you will not get enough hydration or nutrition. A PEG can be an unnecessary crutch for some while for others it is a necessity.
Since many people (mostly male) eschew the PEG and have zero hyrdation and nutrition issues, pro Peggers assertions on those issue ring false. Reasonable people can disagree without being disagreeable so the PEG debate is constantly renewed on OCF when new patients turn to us for advice as unlike radiation or chemo, you can survive cancer without a PEG.

A PEG is hardly innocuous, just read Angelia's post and she only has had it a very short time. I always chuckle when I see it compared to a cast as I remember when all the medical advice was to tape your ribs and toes when they broke whereas now doctors realized that such a cast type binding hinders healing and so have discontinued it. Likewise the emergence of the "boot cast" to replace crutches. Without a PEG, one has the ultimate motivation to keep swallowing daily. I can say from experience just how easy it is to just give up swallowing once you get a PEG as well as how hard it is to relearn swallowing.

But the medical efficacy of a PEG is really a red herring. The underlaying issue is CONTROL of an otherwise uncontrollable force. Cancer TX does not allow you very many choices except for the PEG decision. For those of us with control and Authority issues, a PEG is a big deal. For those who have different issues in life, a PEG is not a big deal. Neither side will ever truly understand the other. There is room enough on OCF for both sides.

Let me try and give a less charged example that illustrates the same point. Just yesterday I went for my fourth Modified Barium Swallow Test at Georgetown hospital. As usual, the nurse escorted me from the waiting room to the radiology dept dressing room and instructed me to take off my clothes and put on a gown. As usual, I politely refused. Now what's the big deal either way you might ask? Well, I don't need a