Pandora, there’s a reason oncologists are very strict about what you put in your peg tube and why you can only wet your lips with water but not even take a sip. My husband’s esophagus was totally closed by scarring after radiation. He took his nutrition through a peg for half a year before a radiation interventionist at Toronto General Hospital opened it up for him. Initially, John was able to swallow liquids and puréed food but then he developed silent aspiration which put him in hospital for more than twenty days. Then two months later, the pneumonia happened again and that time it proved to be fatal.

When John was diagnosed as having the blockage in his esophagus, I had a discussion with his oncologist who was dead set against me putting puréed food into the peg tube because he said it would cause blockage and the stomach couldn’t taste food anyway. I am from Ontario, if you ask, you should be able to have a dietitian to guide you and help you with how much should go into the peg tube. Sometimes it is important to know how much water to put in so that the kidneys are not over-burdened. I was actually told that i was giving John too much water.

Whatever help you need, ask the doctors. The system right now is burdened because of the covid situation but back when John was in treatment I got whatever I needed (for example, he needed an appointment with an SLP and I gave the oncology nurse the name and number of the SLP he had seen previously and that got him in fairly quickly, without having to wait for six months).

Wishing you the best!