Patty

I had to give up solid food after the first week of radiation While at the very end of treatment, I added one VHC a day, I found it too "gritty" to tolerate more. Instead I survived on just Ensure PLUS - the Vanilla flavor. It has more calories than regular ensure. I tried them all: Boost, CVS Liquid nutrition plus, Ensure Prosure, regular Ensure & 5 different health shakes from Whole Fields & Wegmans. (actually still have some cans left of those). My electrolytes, my weekly blood work (CBC and Basic Metabolic Panel were all normal the entire three months of radiation and Erbitux so I got through without a PEG I supplemented the Ensure with mostly canned Seltzer water (generic Safeway) which cleared out the mucous enough to swallow the Ensure. I got up to 15 cans of seltzer water a day so I never needed hydration (but lots of bathroom breaks day and night) Post treatment, I kept with the Ensure for a month and switched to regular bottled water (only Deer Park did not taste metallic). Then soups and soft food. Hang in there. It is a tough journey but not that much different a mind set than when I ran marathons. Pace yourself, focus on the finish line, take it one step at a time. Of course, Easier said than done. Good luck.
tom