Hello Nicki,
My husband is age 56 and had Stage IV base of tongue. He had chemo and radiation, Cisplatin/5FU, 35 radiation treatments, no surgery. His tumor also visisbly shrunk after just a couple of weeks . He had intractable nausea..suppositories worked best for him. Part of the time he was drugged with anti-anxiety meds just to get thru radiaton and, I watched on the closed circuit to make sure he did not start heaving, no fun when you are masked up! If he can consume max calories now it will help . One thing that helped us was THE DRINK.
1 TBsp. Ovaltine
1 tbsp Carnation Malt
1 pack Carnation instant breakfast
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup whole milk
2 cups ice cream...1350 cals and quite tasty!
I have been where you are ..its scary..take the drugs.
Try and keep him out of hospital, nasty place and full of germs .. keep him hydrated.
No point in addressing what if`s..let us know what you are experiencing and we will help. Pete recently had his one year PET and got the all clear. it`s beatable Honest!!
Take care
Marica
Dx 4/03 finished treatment 8/03 eating just about everything and feeling great