It has been so long since my last post! Things have been chaotic, as most of you remember!

Tom is officially done with therapy today! I am so excited. He is so beaten down and has a hard time seeing the good in anything. :o(

The saliva is very thick and keeps filling his mouth. He is kind of afraid to sleep. :o( Any tips on getting rid of the thickness of it? Jaw pain is gone but numbness is still there. He has been on Prednisone during the entire course of treatment. They started him at 40mg/day and have tapered him down to 20, as of now. Sugar was getting too high!

You can read his Blog at

Thriving It


Thanks to all of you for listening, offering advice and having a place to search for answers!!!

The thick saliva period usually last a few weeks which then gives way to the dreaded dry mouth period. Some here have suggested seltzer water. I didn't have the benefit of this site until after this period so I didn't try anything. It would wake me up when my mouth filled during restless periods of "sleep" and I slept in an upright position. I also carried a small Styrofoam cup in my pocket to constantly spit in.

Congrats to Tom for completing his radiation treatments!!!! Its been a long road. In about 2 or 3 weeks he will begin to feel a little better, more like his old self. Dont be surprised if he has a few good days and then one or 2 bad ones. Recovery can take a long time.

Keep up the great job with the nutrition. That is what helps him to feel better. I also supplement my feedings with some high protein powder, it help speed healing. You are doing a great job with the feedings. I cant imagine how doctors can expect someone to have their feedings going 24 hrs per day. My doc prescribed the same thing. I did exactly what you did sped up the machine and had 1/2 a day of freedom.

I didnt try the seltzer either but have heard of its success. Its good to rinse his mouth several times per day with a mixture of 16oz water, 2 tsp baking soda and 2 tsp salt. If the salt burns decrease it or omit it. Rinse and spit several times daily. It will help soothe mouth sores.

Best of luck with a fast recovery.

Thank you guys! It is a rough morning! He's in pain, can't swallow and has so much goop. Says it is constantly filling up his mouth. I will make some of the water rinse for him today. He was eating eggs in am up until yesterday. It is like treatments 32-35 of radiation kicked his proverbial behind!! I thought we were getting off easy! :o(

He is depressed and filled with self loathing! He refuses professional help and also refuses to go to any of the groups or community wellness activities! :o(

Please feel free to email him at [email protected] He will be checking email! I think it would help for him to hear from some of you who have had similar experiences!!

I have him on gatorade for 40oz during the day while taking in sparking water by mouth as he can... (Not a full can a day, but keeps the throat thinking of swallowing.)

Jevity is at 5 cans over night. He has about 3 hours off of the feeding tube each day.

On to researching which pills I can crush and dissolve into liquid for feeding tube admin. Any ideas?

Ask the doc or pharmacist about crushing meds. Anything that is time release you cant crush. Since he has a feeding tube, use it for meds too. Ask the doc for liquid forms for things. I use my tube for taking all my meds. Is Tom using the fentanyl patch? If not, and he is in pain then this would greatly help him. Fentanyl is the strongest pain med there is, they range from 12.5mg - 150 mg doses. It lasts 72 hours and then he would only need a pain med for break-thru pain.

You are doing a great job with hydration. Keep it up! He may get tricky and not drink like he should, dont be shocked. There are lots of stories about patients pulling fast ones on their caregivers and medical staff. One person filled their pockets with stones before getting weighed. I would wear heavier clothing on weigh in days. Darn nurses caught on to it and started weighing me everyday after I had changed into the hospital gown. Then they started making me bring my formula with me and do feedings right there after my radiation appointment.

So far it sounds like you both are holding up. Many cancer patients and their caregivers too end up taking anti-depressants. I was prescribed some and took it for only a few days. Tom is a doctor, he should know its ok to use these meds. Im sure that being a doctor also makes him harder on himself. We are our own worst enemies!

Have your husband check out OCF. It might surprise him to know he has 'friends' here pulling for him Keep up the good work, you are doing great!

Crushing pills was/is the only way Ron get's his and he used to put down the tube, now he can swallow but he still crushes them up.I can tell you what NOT to crush and take by mouth, Dulcolax! Boy that stuff tasted nasty he said and he gagged and it went up the nose, lol wasn't funny at the time cuz you know what that's for and it went up his nose...eww! In the beginning though they gave him liquid pain meds. I bought a Mortar and Pestle to crush his pills, a nice white marble one I found online but you can find in stores without paying shipping, I found mine exactly @ Marshalls Dept store after I bought mine and a bit cheaper too but oh well. And going thru this with Ron they will go into a depression go to the survivor/caregiver threads and read. It's a tough road before they are feeling better, tough for everybody. But worth it!

Hi. So happy to hear treatments are done BUT healing takes a long.......time. John was on both Zofran and Compazine during treatments and up to a month after treatments ended because he was nauseous all the time. The mucus was the worst part (according to him) and when he would try to talk he would gag and throw up. He didn't talk for around a month. He would sleep semi-reclined with a "spit cup" next to him but never got more than 20 minutes sleep without having to spit out the mucus. It will get better but it doesn't happen overnight. For John the "mucus issue" starting getting a lot better one month out of treatments. John tried the different mouth rinses and nothing seemed to help - only time.

Keep posting and hang in there! It is such a helpless feeling to watch someone you love so much, suffer so much.

I just got back from getting him some pick me ups... Guitar picks, a new strap and a few magazines! He seemed more lively and less in the dumps! I reminded him of the things he loves to do which are so much a part of who he is. I think today is getting a bit better! I told him that I posted his email address... Boy did that get a funky look! LOL!

Thanks for all of you guys! Many hugs and positive wishes for each of you! I appreciate the words of wisdom and kind wishes! I don't know what I would do without this board to fall back on!! :o)

BTW: Tom had a Quaker Parrot, which he hand-fed from a hatch-ling. We got Myrt 10 years ago. On the last day of Tom's treatment, I noticed Myrt laying on the bottom of her cage at 12:30am. I don't know if any of you are superstitious, but it seemed to me that this long-time friend had taken the Cancer hit for Tom. I have a hard time believing in coincidence. I believe with all of my heart that this awesome little bird took the cancer with her when she left us. She gave him a new lease on life.


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awww wjat a beautiful bird...aww so sorry but i like the way you are thinking. she was so young also. poor baby. how is tom handling the loss? maybe that is why he was so upset?

He was really young how sad. We thought long and hard about getting a Parrot but decided that there wasn't anyone we could will them too who we trusted. I have a sick Canary right now that is in his midlife. Birds die from fatty liver disease, prematurely and this is fairly common. We ended up getting a pair of Malteses. Their lifespan is around 15 years. We were looking at a Caique...