Hi , I’m new here . My husband has had his radio chemotherapy for tonsil and neck / lymph node cancer.

Hi Siobhan and welcome.

Your husband is still very early in his recovery, Time and patience is what you both need. I was on morphine till 12 weeks and not eating much for 8 weeks after treatment. Make sure his mouth is nice and clean and he is taking enough pain killers. Try soft foods like yoghurt or custard first. Make sure he is doing his jaw and swallow exercises. One day at a time

HI and welcome ,4 weeks is early in recovery and what your husband is going through is par for the course i am almost 8 weeks in now and have just started drinking tea and coffee  and eating soup which is watered down taking sips of water on a regular basis will get him used to swallowing again it is difficult at first but gets easier i have improved no end in the last 4 weeks in terms of pain ,and mood and my general outlook is now more positive i am still having my fortisips through my RIG but hope to phase this out over the next 2  months we are all different but hopefully he will improve like me .

Hi as others have said it’s early days. Key to recovery is nutrition and hydration by anyway ye can. I was told for first year I needed 2500 calories a day and 2-3 litres of water. Ti start with I got the  majority of calories via feeding tube then moved in to sipping ensures 6 a day.

soft poached eggs tinned spaghetti trifles  think nursery food I thought nursery type good. 
best wishes 

Hazel 

The feeding tube will be a life saver, it took me a good 6-8 weeks post treatment to start with small portions of solid food and build up from there...Whole milk orally was one of my go-to source of calories, along with Ensures via PEG...it takes time and patience, my wife and CNS/dietitian were great in supporting me....my first little treat was Guinness Alcohol Free which I could actually taste and tolerate..

Siobhan - much the same, very early days! I found visiting the dairy/dessert aisle at the supermarket was an eye opener. Custard, Mousse, Jelly, Tiramisù and Rice Pudding. Tinned foods are also a great stop-gap and I found that tinned Ravioli and Macaroni Cheese was easy - you can buy them in small tins and they are easy to prepare and you don’t have to cook loads to then find out that you can’t eat it or don’t feel up to it. I remember being re-introduced to many old childhood favourite treats and you can eat them all in the interest that the focus is on getting the calories in!!

If your husband skin around where he had radiotherapy was red, burnt or blistered, just think what it’s like inside! Swallowing can feel like you’re eating glass at times and because of the aggressiveness of radiotherapy it can cause scar tissue that makes the swallow function harder to maintain without persistence and doing your exercises to strengthen all the muscles.

Stick with it - encourage him where you can to persevere with taking on little things often where he can. It’ll get better over time, it’s a marathon - not a sprint. It’s always an individual journey but generally you’re looking at progression month by month as opposed to week to week.

Best wishes

Reevesy