Hey Brenda. I'm a Missouri native myself! Weighing in as a caregiver, for what it is worth. My husband didn't have surgery or Erbitux so don't know anything about that. He finished rads Feb 10.

Nourishing yourself IS a high priority. This is really Christine's topic and it comes up with every new person she responds to. And Christine, if you are reading, I don't see evidence that you repeatedly copy and paste -- it is part of your kindness to speak to each of us individually.

Mouth sores are addressed in many places on the boards but some of the themes are using Magic Mouthwash, careful attention to food choices (textures, acidity, altered taste), liberal use of pain meds. Do not, and I repeat DO NOT slack off about oral care, no matter how unpleasant. I'm talking about the antifungal stuff and sodium bicarb rinses. Plus anything else the dentist and radiation oncologist would have recommended to you. Rick was slack and wound up in a world of misery from little old thrush.


Nourishing yourself is going to be hard work. There is simply no way around it. Use your PEG. Rick's has been his best friend and worst enemy but it is literally what keeps him alive. He tried to battle on eating and resisted using the PEG until it was a last resort. Why? (Wife beats head on wall.) Well, PEGs are great but they, or the formulas that go through them, create issues of their own. Indigestion, nausea, etc. But the calories have got to go in some way. Please don't let yourself give in to missing out on calories until you have exhausted ALL options. You get one and only one chance to heal.

Understand that the ground will be shifting under your feet for the next few weeks. What works one day won't the next. Frustrating but true. Still, you can do this. Not a single person on these boards has any Superhuman power and if this collection of ordinary people can do this extraordinary thing, then so can you. And you will. All the best, Brenda N.