Kerry,

I went with the "food is medicine" approach for several months (I didn't have a tube, so I was relying on everything by mouth, even when it tasted awful and my mouth was burning all the time). I started with basic frappes, but then added different kinds of fruit and other ingredients to try to get more calories and nutrition. I also ate things like cold or warm (but not hot) soup, cream of wheat, all sorts of baby food, instant breakfast, and anything else that was soft and mushy enough to swallow. Your husband needs to get his daily intake needs however he can -- by mouth or by tube -- but if he's going at least partly by mouth, he needs to recognize that the taste buds won't be back for awhile (but they do come back).

I also remember asking the same question he is asking -- "how do people do this" -- but my radiation oncologist reminded me that I was only 39 and had a lot to live for. (By the way, I'm now 56 and very glad I didn't give up part way through the treatment.)

Try to take just a day at a time rather than focusing on how many weeks of radiation he has left. Also, please be sure there is someone at the hospital who is helping to track his status with nutrition.

Cathy