Hi All
Alex and I have had a few dramas with feeding and the poor bugger has gone from naturally skinny to positively emaciated! and all this before chemo+rad begins.
He should be 75kgs (165lbs) for his height and by diagnosis, was already down to 60kgs (130lbs). A PEG was installed within the week and we were given a product called TwoCal by the hospital with instructions to take 3 tins per day minimum, 4 if Alex became unable to eat at all. During his initial treatment of 3 cycles of chemo (taxotere, 5FU, cisplatin)we had daily slanging matches about his refusal to eat (or more correctly "nourish himself"). Alex saw it as food and treated it the way he always did - something to do when he felt like it and I saw it as "treatment" and not to be skipped. I naggede him, he ignored me and his weight dropped below 50kgs. The doctor scared the c*** out of him by telling him his treatment would be suspended until he gained 5-10 kgs (11-22lbs)and for a full 24 hours he was really good. The next 24 hours was spent congratulating himself and he slid back into old habits. So I dragged him kicking and screaming off to hospital to have him admitted for "starvation". Hospital was fantastic after initially slapping me for presenting him at the Emergency dept but they DID admit him after talking to the oncologist and the dietician was called in to consult. She put Alex on Nutrison concentrate which is 1000 calories per 500mL and prescribed 2 bags per day which is administered via pump overnight for around 8-12 hours (we have it down to 8 hours now with a 2am alarm to change bags).
He gained 5kgs in 7 days so we were very happy and Alex kept to schedule with his chemo. Now we are in the hiatus between chemo and chemo+radio and his weight has not shifted in ages. He is still horribly underweight (57kgs) and has actually only gained a further 2 or 3 kilos since the initial weight gain. Once again, I think he is cheating somehow but can't figure out how. His attitude has slipped (again) and the same old excuses are being trotted out - he is delaying starting the feed, complaining his PEG hurts, saying he feels sick (no evidence of this being true), saying in the middle of the night that he will do it first thing in the morning which mucks up the next cycle as he gets later and later etc. Once again, we are fighting daily over this.

Help please from people who have been through this and can give me some insight into what is going on in his head and what am i failing to comprehend? I hate being the wicked witch of the west and blame him for forcing me to act this way (pathetic and selfish, I know but can't stop it). Who stole the love of my life and put this little boy in his place?

Now to my more practial questions
What experience do others have with Nutrison or TwoCal?
In Australia the Nutrison is costing me $650 per month. Is there an assistance scheme that I don't know about that can off set costs?
Any tips or tricks or good stories with Nutrison that might motivate Alex to keep going?
I keep hearing about Ensure Plus but it is only 350 cals per serve - should we be trying this on top of everything?
What are the pros and cons of each of these products?
Karen
PS sorry about the length - I only seem to be able to do epics