Thank you people for your insightful comments.

I was talking to a friend today who has done the cancer roller coaster herself. She suggested that he may not feel equipped and ready to face the future yet. Keeping the PEG allows him some chance of controlling the pace of moving forward. This idea resonates as I know that Alex's attempt to go back to work was a little premature and did nothing to help his confidence. As a consequence, his fear of moving forward and subsequent failure (his perception, not anyone else's) is high.

Karen, thank you for your comments. As an actual PEG user and recent ex-PEGGER your own experience suggests that his reaction is not abnormal. He too uses the phrase "just in case" when we discuss it.

he needs to be reminded about how brave he has been through everything and that he can do this. It is not the walk in the park we thought it would be and his reticence is understandable but unfounded (well, maybe not unfounded so much as not as big a deal as he imagines).

Again, thanks everyone.

Karen