Bethers - there are a lot of good products out there and of course everyone's experience is different. I used just about everything my RO and her excellent nurse prescribed and it was still tough.

For eating (i.e. the liquids, which was all I was on for several months) I would first use viscous lidocaine. It's a gel that you hold in your mouth to dull any sores you might have. It works, well, it helps, I'd say. Impossible to get it really down in your throat for any lesions down there, alas. But it's something.

Caphosol is a saliva substitute that helps moisten the mouth during treatment. Very expensive though.

There's a rinse that comes as a powder in a plastic bottle to which one adds water. Trying to remember the name... hmm... it's not coming to me but if I remember it I'll PM you.

If your neck blisters, Silver Sulfadiazine is great. It really helped me.

Don't be shy about asking for painkillers. If you're in pain you absolutely need them and your docs should be prescribing them freely. I found plain Oxycodone worked the best for me, at least eventually, as Percocets (Oxy + Acetominophen) are quite large and hard to swallow. I also used a Fentanyl patch during the last couple of weeks when the Oxys weren't enough. But ask your docs and see what they say.

No question, radiation is a bitch and the immediate aftermath no better. But you'll get through it without a problem I'm sure! So good to hear you can complete your move before you start. That must be a huge load off your mind.

Keep us posted all the way, okay?

D2