Happy Trifecta Birthday, Matt, Cashmere, and Megan Walker!
Jen, ouch on the ankle! I hope it heals well.
Tim started week 6 of 7 today. Still going to work after radiation 4 days a week (but taking the whole chemo day off). Still eating soft solid foods (pasta, mashed potatoes, yogurt, pudding, non-tomato-based soups with cooked veggies in them so they're soft enough to eat, soft bread, soft protein bars that are like marshmallow Easter egs,* etc.). His speech pathologist, who is in charge of the PT that Tim does for swallowing and other throat stuff, said he is doing astonishingly well in terms of still being able to eat solid food and not having any sores in his mouth and throat, after 5 weeks of radiation. Apparently a lot of patients are on a PEG tube for most of their nutrition at this point in treatment, and he's just cruising along eating his pasta. He's just been 100% dedicated to doing the PT exercises twice a day, and using all the oral rinse stuff that was recommended to avoid sores in his mouth, and apparently all that stuff works. (We are aware — the oncologist told us at the first appointment — that his mouth and throat side effects might not get really bad until after the radiation is over, since it has a cumulative effect. Even so, neither one of us thought he'd be eating solid food in week 6. He's a rock star.)
His BP still isn't consistently where it should be, but since he started the medication to get the BP up, it has consistently been in the high 90s, which is a big improvement over the 70s and 80s from last weekend. The goal is triple digits, so the oncologist might increase the dose of the medication. We stocked up on Boost Very High Calorie during Prime Days, so that's helping keep weight on him.
*Okay, these protein bars are called Built Puff bars, and they're like chocolate-covered marshmallow Easter eggs. They don't have a lot of sugar in them (like 6 grams a bar), they don't have artificial sweeteners, and they have 17 grams of protein at 140 calories (Tim could use more calories, but I discovered the bars in my search for easy protein while on Zepbound [the Zepbound subreddit has been hilariously helpful for some things for Tim, like easy-to-eat protein and tips to stay hydrated]). And they come in a billion flavors, like churro, cookies and cream, salted caramel, etc. Right now Tim's favorites are coconut (which is the most like the marshmallow Easter egg, just plain white fluff covered with dark chocolate) and brownie batter. I try not to steal them from him, but the salted caramel ones are really good.