Cutie boys, GC! And those photos are spectacular.

Folks who have dealt with chemo and radiation, can I ask a question for my friend with esophageal cancer?

He's gotten to the stage where he is feeling wrecked. He has sores in his mouth and feels awful.

I've made him a couple gallons of bone broth and am going to supply some big-around straws to perhaps bypass the painful part of eating.

I'm also giving him some coconut oil, hoping it is bland enough to give him rich calories with little upset.

His wife is doing the best she can to prepare 'white foods' but is running out of ideas.

What else might help?

Incidentally, folks who love coconut oil should hye thee to Costco. I bought the 54oz jar, which retails for $27, for $13 today. I was over the moon!

Hubby's early in his chemo and so far he's been swearing by orange juice. He says his mouth feels like it's been scraped, but I guess the acids in the OJ don't bother him. It's not "white" either, so I don't know how much help that will be.

Is he taking lysine? That can help, as can dilute peroxide or salt water rinses. There's also a lidocaine-based mouthwash his doctor can prescribe. It numbs the sores pretty thoroughly for long enough to eat something.

Of course, ice cream is good, but ice cream is good for all ailments.

I will pass on these recommendations. Thanks so much.

Ginger, how long do the sores last, generally?

His regimen is one week chemo/radiation, three weeks radiation, one week chemo/radiation. He's at the end of the first week. I think the chemo pump came out Tuesday.

I think mouth sores are probably hardest to deal with for esophageal and mouth cancers, since there's also radiation aimed at the area. They probably gave him mouth-care instructions. Really diligent (and by diligent, I mean obsessive) mouth care is the best prevention, but he's probably going to have a bad time. He may have a week to 10 days in which the sores have healed before the next round of chemo. There is evidence that holding ice in the mouth during chemo reduces mouth sores, but that's not really practical with a chemo pump. He still may want to try to sucking ice chips when he can.

As I tell everyone, he needs to really communicate with his doctors every symptom. Too many cancer patients act as if suffering is mandatory.

Sigh.

That's what I was afraid of. Thank you so much for the insight. I'll pass along the ice chip idea too. It's been so cold, and he's so thin...I just hope the warm broth helps somehow.

Ginger, you are such a Godsend! I think about how often we turn to you for advice on so many matters.

Ginger, you are such a Godsend! I think about how often we turn to you for advice on so many matters.

Totally this.