Week 5 Treatment appetite loss - losing weight quickly!!

MaxiB said:

I could really do with some advice as to what to try next as he has lost weight quickly over this week and the dietician is talking about nasogastric tube which he is refusing right now.

Tell him that’s exactly what he needs. I had one and it saved my life. It’s really easy to use especially if you can pump feed overnight while you are asleep. He will recover and heal much better if he is properly nourished

There is no pain killer on earth that will remove the acute pain of swallowing. 
If he continues to lose weight the hospital will admit him anyway and that I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Sorry to sound so brutal but needs must. 

Thank you, no apology needed - this is a brutal time.

Hello MaxiB, not sure what your husbands diagnosis was,but well done to have come this far. My husband got diagnosed with T3N3M0 neck throat cancer,he had 30 rounds RT and 2 rounds CT.He got a PEG fitted prior start of treatment. And it was a life saver. He wasn't able to eat orally at about 3wks through. Pretty much all the other side effects we got told about followed. No saliva,thick mucus,loss of voice,fatigue.He was 110kgs at the start of the treatment,by the end he was down to 71kgs. Now 5+ mths pre treatment he is slowly starting to put weight back,we are now hoping that we get the all clear for the PEG to be removed,hopefully next week. If he he is only in week 5,he still got a while to go? Maybe he should reconsider,and have the tube fitted. What is is medical team saying? Big hugs, stay strong and positive. Fellow wife Mel x

My PEG tube was inserted before the start of my chemoradiotherapy, weight loss kicked in rapidly after week 3 and the feeding tube became a life saver, I did not want the feeding tube but was persuaded to have it, your partner should reconsider, it will aid recovery and will not be in place for long.

Beesuit said:

There is no pain killer on earth that will remove the acute pain of swallowing. 
If he continues to lose weight the hospital will admit him anyway and that I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Sorry to sound so brutal but needs must. 

I'll second that, with 1st hand experience of 17 days in hospital.. absolute nightmare! get the NG tube, and pump feed overnight... there is no easy route with this, but being at home will be a lot more tolerable than being on a ward.. don't make things even harder for yourself!