I think it is important to understand that no matter how high a pain tolerance one might have, depending on amount of rad, area targeted, dosage & type of chemo, toughing it out might not work. It is not necessarily a patient failure of will.

There is a case to be made for having PEG in place or waiting to see how severely swallowing is effected. Christine outlined many of the considerations.

Our RO & MO insisted on PEG placement prior to tx. so we didn't face this issue. My husband lost zero pounds during tx., mindful of exercising muscles with sips of liquid. I believe this speeded up his overall recovery. The other advantage was getting use to the PEG and a formula gradually before it was essential.