My father is just starting week 5 of treatment. For the last week he has had a low temp (99-101). Over the weekend, he began spiking 102.5. Last night he went to the MDA ER and they admitted him. Thought they saw pneumonia in the right lung. This morning, they think there is no pneumonia. However, they will keep him in the hospital for 2 days on IV antibiotics.

He is going to continue radiation. He was scheduled for Erbitux today; however, I don't know if they will keep that appt or change the treatment plan.

He has no problem swallowing. His problems are the mouth sores. It is very difficult to even close his mouth now. They had started him on Fentanyl 12.5mg, although I believe they have now moved him up to 25mg.

Up until now, he could manage making sure he was doing all of his exercises, eating and drinking the right amount and being on top of all of his meds. Now, we are taking on those tasks to make sure these things are tracked and taken care of, as he is more tired and seems more confused.

He knows this is part of the process and intellectually, knows it is going to get harder before it gets worse. He feels defeated and having to be admitted to the hospital made it worse. He has kept his weight up so far, and is now drinking 5 Carnation VHCs a day. I am thankful he's keeping the weight on.

Last treatment day is still scheduled for next Friday (3/11)!