Dear Kim, my husband is unable to swallow as a result of scarring. We used to celebrate every New Year's Eve with friends; when New Year's was approaching this past year, he was quite upset because even though he enjoys the company of his friends, he also felt he did not want to sit at the dinner table while everybody ate. Finally we told our friends that we would be there in the afternoon so that we could spend a few hours with them, then we left and went home just before dinner. It was a compromise but it helped lift his spirits.

I also spoke to our friends before the event about the need to socialize in another way, without involving eating and drinking. They understood and were willing to make the adjustment.

BTW, an ENT or a radiology interventionist might be able to carry out a procedure called CARD or TREAD which involves putting a stent in the esophagus. There is an RI who is willing to try that out with my husband but we have to wait since John is in a clinical trial. I have a couple of articles that describe these procedures, if you PM me your email address, I will send the links to you.