@lizzyj58 My oncologist doesn't do feeding tubes and so I didn't get one. They use the Boost method and it works. I bought a Ninja smoothie maker and some large silicone straws to make my own. I guess it depends on who you're being treated by for the feeding tube? The surgery was bad, but I was able to push through it. The radiation treatments themselves are not tough. It's the end of Radiation when it hits you like a rock. The radiation is accumulative and so it builds up. You lose your appetite and have to force yourself to eat. Food is horrible and it tastes metallic. That lasted about a week? Boost made this doable. Then I started eating normal food again, but it always had to have a wet component. However, the food has no taste at first, then at about two weeks, I had a hint of the tastes on the first bite, then it goes away. I had two cheeseburgers about 1 ½ weeks out, I drank a lot of water with them. I lost about 15 pounds and now I'm about staying the same at 201, from 218/220.
Neck stiffness is another issue. It's called radiation fibrosis and I'm constantly stretching it. I gargled with 3 things. Salt and Baking Soda/ Water; Salt and Water; L-Glutamine Powder and Warm Water. The L-Glutamine was very throat soothing. I also had hot Green Tea in the morning which was also very throat soothing. I use Act mouth (kids apple) wash and Xylitabs at night. Water by the bed for the dry mouth. The mornings are usually good for me, and the evenings things start to go south. I'll be a month out on Wednesday (10-22) and I'm doing ok compared to a lot of others I've read their stories. I didn't miss a day at the gym accept when I had my drain tubes in ( a few days). So, the biggest surprise for me is how long the recovery is, I'm not a patient person. I'm getting better everyday though and that's a positive. If you have a Chinese Restaurant near order the egg flour soup in the beginning it helped.