Tracy,

Welcome to this site -- I'm sorry to hear your father is going through this, but I think you'll find plenty of help and information here.

Do you know what stage his cancer was? Is he being treated at a major cancer center? Right now it's very important for him to be able to continue getting good nutrition to prevent significant weight loss as his treatment goes on. Many of us found that the first 2-3 weeks of radiation were relatively tolerable, but beyond that point it often gets much more difficult. It's essential to be on the lookout for signs of infection, mouth sores, blistering on the skin, or any other effects that may need quick medical attention.

A general rule of thumb that you will see here is that it can frequently take a month of recovery time for each week of radiation treatment, so be prepared for the fact that when his radiation is over, there will probably still be a period of several months before he can see noticeable improvement in eating, tasting, and overcoming mouth pain.

Feel free to post your questions and concerns here as his treatment progresses and let us know how he's doing.

Cathy