I can readily identify with Gail's description of the doctor who was treated over 15 years ago. As another veteran of that era, I can attest that radiation was indeed a "swallow or die" situation, with pain medications that did little to alleviate the problem. There were many times that my husband got to hear me scream at the top of my lungs as I tried to get soft food and/or liquids down, because I knew I had nutrition goals that were being monitored pretty closely by my oncology team.

While it was terribly painful for a good many weeks, the upside was that I was able to work my way back to normal eating within a few months, and have had minimal swallowing issues ever since. Before long, I was back to the opposite problem -- controlling my intake to avoid putting on too much weight!

Cathy