Im so very sorry to hear you are starting to struggle!!! Im also very sorry to say this is right about when most patients will start understanding just how difficult oral cancer (OC) and its treatments can be. Its not a walk in the park but it can be made as easy as possible just by focusing on your daily intake.

One of the most important things right now is making certain you are taking in enough calories and fluids every single day. Every day you must take in at the very least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water. Losing 10 pounds in one week tells me your intake must be starting to lag as you are beginning to feel lousy. Doctors advise their patients that losing weight during rads is NOT good, even patients who are very much overweight should find another time to start their dieting for weight loss. I know when it hurts to swallow and everything is tasting horrible that makes it even harder but in order to help you to feel better somehow you must overcome the side effects and push thru it to take in enough every day. Maybe your doc could write you a prescription for pain meds, or magic mouthwash (MM) which has many different types. I had lidocaine, maalox and benedryl. Swish it around in your mouth for at least 30 seconds then spit it out to help numb your mouth an throat before trying to eat, usually it numbs for around 20-30 minutes. It helps some but with pain meds it may be a little easier to eat and drink.

Trick is to get the most calories per swallow as possible. Boost makes a Very High Calories liquid nutritional drink that has I think 540 calories per "can" (its now in a waxed cardboard box). VHC can be purchased in some retail locations but mostly it has to be ordered which some pharmacies will do for their customers by asking the pharmacist. You can also get it by clicking on the Amazon box near the top right of any page. By clicking on that box before ordering from Amazon, it helps OCF by giving us a small kickback from any purchase. It may only be small orders but they all do add up to be a big help every month for our tiny nonprofit organization.

Being you are half way into your treatments, you may get away with having a nasal tube instead of the regular PEG tube most patients have surgically placed before starting treatments. Plus the nasal tube is more of a temporary thing which does require any type of surgery to instal it. I know how having a feeding tube makes you feel, mentally its very difficult to process the need for it. Try thinking of it as being another tool to get you thru this just like the fluoride trays or the ointment to dab onto your reddened face and neck areas after rads.

Ask your doc or pharmacist if meds can be crushed or dissolved before trying it. You could also dissolve the crushed medicine in a tiny bit of warm water. Just check if its ok first. Time released meds (even over the counter meds) are not able to be crushed or dissolved or they could cause an accidental overdose. If you had any kind of feeding tube meds can be easily taken by dissolving them in a little warm water a few minutes before you want to take them. No swallowing anything when you can put it thru the tube. Just try to remember to take sips of water several times a day to keep your swallowing muscles actively working.

Hang in there!!!