Ellen, Charm has been thru it both ways so he is VERY experienced with this situation. It can be done and weight loss does not have to be significant. Ive seen several members get thru this eating all the way thru and maintaining their weight, losing less than 20 pounds. Even if your husband is overweight, now is not the time to lose anything. I lost way too much weight and that was with having the tube. I had a difficult time and was hospitalized a few times for dehydration and malnutrition. That was just me, I didnt have a caregiver to help and encourage me. This is why I say your husband is very fortunate to have you on top of everything for him.

As Charm mentioned there is always the nasal tube. That is a short term fix for this. So if your husband is struggling it can easily be placed and used right away.

Pay very close attention to your husbands nutrition. The Carnation VHC is a great way to get the daily calories easier. Anytime you order from Amazon, please use the link on the forum to help OCF with a small kickback. Every little bit helps to keep the forum running.

At this point, get your husband into the habit of taking in a minimum of 48oz water and 2500 calories every single day. If one day he is short, it isnt possible to make it up the next day. Once that cycles starts, its impossible to turn it around and catch back up. An easy way I learned from another member was to get out the drinks he needs to drink for the day and when they are gone, he has met his requirement. Here is a list of easy to eat foods that will help. I would drink a couple chocolate peanut butter milk shakes a day which were very high in calories.

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=94621#Post94621