 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 624 | Hi,
At Hopkins if they are not doing surgery (which Barry did not have at Hopkins) and the patient is getting chemoradiation OR bilateral neck/throat radiation, they really push for a gastric tube. And -- they want it done before treatment starts. However some people resist and end up having it inserted when they start to have eating/swallowing problems. This is not ideal but they cannot force folks to have surgery! It is the patient's choice...
Actually, it is done under "twilight" sleep -- the same as when you have a colonoscopy, and not with general anesthesia. Barry doesn't recall any of the actual surgery, but he was semi-awake for the endoscopic tube into his stomach -- which he said was the worst part!
No real pain today but it is tender if you press around the insertion point, and if he does something that involves contracting his abs.
Gail
CG to husband Barry, dx. 7/21/05, age 66, SCC rgt. tonsil, BOT, 2 nodes (stg. IV), HPV+, tonsillectomy, 7x carboplatin, 35x tomoTherapy IMRT w/ Ethyol @ Johns Hopkins, thru treatment 9/28/05, HPV vaccine trial 12/06-present. Looking good!
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