Laura,

My sister stuck with the amofostine shots for 3 weeks, before she gave up because the nausea was so relentless. She was on companzine, decadron, zofran and taking ativan before the treatments. Sometimes she felt like she was going to vomit during radiation treatment with the mask on and choke. Your dad should seriously consider getting a PEG, and do not feed when he is nauseous. Warming the formula to body temperature, before feeding really helps. Also a portable suction machine is really helpful to suck all the thick mucous and saliva out. My sister lost her ability to swallow, so it was a life saver (about $30.00 a month to rent). Anzemet seemed to work well for my sister during her chemo treatments of cisplatin. She usually went back to oncology 2 days later for rehydration...it really made a difference and helped tremendously. If your dad has tried all the above drugs to no avail he might want to try Phenergan, but it can have bad side effects (hallucinate, and become fidgety and talk in your sleep), so is sometimes given with benedryl. Usually it's given as an injection, but they have suppostories and my sister was taking 6.25 mg, which is half of the smallest dose they make.

My best to you both... try to stay positive and enjoy the little things that we take for granted in life...just take it a day at a time, by the end of March (or sooner) your dad will be feeling lots better.

Nancy