Welcome to OCF!

As a caregiver, taking care of a parent can be a very difficult job which is often frustrating and thankless. You have come to the right place to get some help with your father. He is lucky to have you in his corner!

Your father is only just beginning his recovery period. At only 4 weeks post rads, he still probably feels lousy and is fatigued and weak. His intake must be a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water every single day for at least the next year. Some members will say 60 oz of water is the minimum.

What your father has been thru will take a long time to get over. Radiation keeps working for a few weeks even after treatments end. It takes one month of recovery for every week of radiation treatments. A complete recovery can take every bit of 2 years. Thats not to say at 3 or 4 months after rads he wont be doing better, what I mean is that he will still notice improvements in his sense of taste and energy levels all the way thru the 2 year mark. Most patients are doing remarkably better anywhere from 3-6 months after rads ends. Every patient is different and will recover at their own pace, some faster than others. Age can play a part in the timeline too.

Aspiration pneumonia is fairly common with OC patients. I have not heard of mico-aspiration before but it certainly sounds very possible for OC patients. The micro-aspiration could be the cause of the pneumonia and why its not responding to meds.

Hang in there, in time your father will do better and feel better. Rads can be so hard on a patient. I spent many nights in the hospital for malnutrition and dehydration when I went thru it. I learned to focus on what is controllable which is the calorie and water intake and push to meet the daily minimums and then exceed them. Thats the way to get well and feel better.

Best wishes with everything.