Hi Marina,

Welcome to OCF. I am reliving the first week we found out about my hubbie's cancer thru you...I know you are reeling from the news and have so many questions.

The decision to have or not have a PEG is a hard one. In our case, since hubby chose twice a day (hyperfractionated) rads, the decision was made for us (it was the only way the doctor would do it.) The surgery to have his PEG placed (as well as a mediport) was done on an outpatient basis before treatment started and Bill was fine after just a couple of days...muscle soreness in his belly was his only complaint. Bill considered it a Godsend...a real lifesaver when his throat was so sore he could not eat. In our case, it allowed me to keep his nutrition and hydration at optimal levels plus administer meds. I believe it made a major difference in his healing ...he was back to almost normal activities and eating at three weeks post treatment. We had a good experience with the PEG...our insurance covered all the supplies and supplements and the PEG site stayed healthy and clean...no problems with infection or pain.

Bill's voice did get raspy, but he was always able to talk. Today, he still has a change in his tone...maybe always will.

Bill was able to work up until about the end of week three. He felt pretty lousy after that and only worked sporatically until two weeks post treatment. I had to start driving him to treatments about that time as well...he just was not up to it.

Hope this helps...you have come to the right place for both technical answers and moral support.

My best to you in the coming days...things will get better once you get a treatment plan in place and get going...these first few days are the hardest as far as your mental state is concerned. The waiting and decision making is the pits.

Hang in there, Deb