Eskimo, welcome to OCF! Im sorry to hear of your watching the person you love struggle thru treatments. Being a caregiver certainly has its own set of challenges!

For abbreviations, check out the following link. Dont worry after a few posts you will pick up alot of the most commonly used ones.

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=93188&page=1

Nutrition will play a key role in how easily your husband gets thru this. He needs a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water every single day. I know it sounds like too much but its a MINIMUM. Right now his body is burning up calories at lightening speed trying to fight the cancer and to help build him back up from the treatments. Make use of the feeding tube, it is a very good tool that will help get him thru this. Many of us used Carnation Very High Calorie to meet our daily minimums. This can be purchased thru the green box with the Amazon link on the main forum pages. Please use that for any Amazon purchases you or your friends and relative make (hint--- pass it on!) Each can is 560 calories and is about $48 a case thru Amazon.

As far as a dry mouth goes, try using biotene products. They make a mouth gel which can help. Also the doc can prescribe Salagen or pilocarpine to help him produce more saliva. To be honest, this point in treatment isnt where what most of us call dry mouth. Where he will notice a huge difference is about a month after rads is over, his mouth will be like the Saraha Desert! Sorry, dont mean to scare you but it will be much drier than what he is going thru now.

Best wishes with everything!


Christine
SCC 6/15/07 L chk & by L molar both Stag I, age44
2x cispltn-35 IMRT end 9/27/07
-65 lbs in 2 mo, no caregvr
Clear PET 1/08
4/4/08 recur L chk Stag I
surg 4/16/08 clr marg
215 HBO dives
3/09 teeth out, trismus
7/2/09 recur, Stg IV
8/24/09 trach, ND, mandiblctmy
3wks medicly inducd coma
2 mo xtended hospital stay, ICU & burn unit
PICC line IV antibx 8 mo
10/4/10, 2/14/11 reconst surg
OC 3x in 3 years
very happy to be alive smile