As a grizzled veteran, if not primary combatant, in the intermittent PEG wars here at OCF, I was delighted to open my Google Reader of the OCF Oral Cancer News feed to see my Radiation Oconologist at the Georgetown CCC talk about PEGs.
[quote]Another Way to Minimize Dysphagia
Dr. Harter had some practical advice for all clinicians � IMRT users or not � who want to reduce dysphagia in this setting.

�Elective feeding tubes should be avoided unless nutritionally essential,� he said.

Feeding tubes themselves are contributors to long-term dysphagia, he explained. �The presence of a feeding tube tends to reduce use of the swallowing mechanism.�[/quote]

In past exchanges many posters have discounted my stance that a feeding tube should be only used when essential and not "just in case" due to the danger they pose to swallowing.
It was my RO's support that also got me thru the first time without a PEG and colored my opinions. He did warn me that the second round of radiation would put me at risk of never swallowing again but agreed with the ENT surgeon that the pathology report of perineural involvement and lack of clear margins after the surgery made it a necessary risk.
Yet another reason to love OCF, despite internal opinions, it always reports both sides of any controversy and does not censor reasonable dissent.
Ironically, I am on feeding tube for life, so I am not totally rational and certainly not unbiased on this subject.
Charm