A piece of advice, never give up hope! My mom had a surgeon that was awful to talk to, he made us cry every time we were near him. She couldn't tolerate water, at all! I believe it has to do with the alkaline levels, try fiji if your hubby wants water. My mom drank pepsi and ate oreoes the entire time she was going for treatments-not suggesting to do this, just stating a fact. Her weight went down, she tried to lie by putting little stones in the pockets of her clothing--the medications she was taking made her a little goofy at times. I should go back and read what I wrote, I haven't done that in years. Her situation with the surgeon was so out of hand that we spoke with our social worker, she helped immensely. Everyone is different, even our doctors perspectives. My mom uses lidocaine as needed, has since RT started and she began having issues. She had an ng tube temporarily right after surgery, all along I was told a peg would benefit her by everyone here, but her oncologists seem to think she was ok. She was ok, she could have been stronger by getting proper nutrients. If you want to read about an arrogant doctor, read my first few posts. I was overwhelmed.