Hi, Nicki.

First, I truly concur with the positive attitude advice, because I believe that adds an extra dimension to the curative treatment. Secondly, I had the surgery first, which included a trach, so the PEG was a necessity. Even with that, the rad and chemo beat up my mouth so badly that I lost 60 lbs which was much too much. I cannot imagine how I would have managed without it. I was pretty positive and out and about, but absolutely could not have eaten anything by mouth. It was summer, and hydration was even more important, so the tube was a really helpful thing. Some have had a bit of trouble with the PEG, but I had none at all. You tell Tom that this is all very doable, one day at a time. Lots and lots of us have gone through it and are fine today. Mine wasn't tonsil but I had a Stage IV tumor and a couple of nodes and am more than two years out and going strong. I wanted to know up front everything that would happen, and if he is like that, all the info is here. If he doesn't want to know, we can still answer questions as they arise. This is a large bump in the road for sure, but tell him he can definitely get past it. Like your husband, I had never had any medical problems before this, and in some ways I am sure that helped because I was strong and otherwise healthy. Your job has to be the worst because I know the frustration of wanting to make it better and not being able to. Just remember that being there and being the advocate when he doesn't feel up to it are very, very important things which will help him. When things get to be a little too much, just mentally fast forward a few months to when it is all a memory. You and he will get through this!