For some reason water is more difficult to swallow than thick/semi fluid.In my case, I could take congee throughout and after treatment but when it came to soup, it took me quite a while drinking it without choking. Ed, I understand how you feel when discovering that you can eat without help from water. For a Chinese meal that usually goes with rice and a lot of veggies, this experience can really happen even earlier than 13 months post treatment since the rice is soft and veggies especially melon type can help to get your food down more easily. Depending on what I have for dinner, sometimes I don't need any sip of water for the whole meal but with dry food like meat or chicken, every bite goes with a small sip of water. So naturally, my diet now is directed to more veggies and less meat, which I think is much healthier. Eating or swallowing isn't a problem to me now-- 3 years post treatment. So things can get better slowly and gradually.

Karen.