It definitely got easier for me with time. Take it slow. I was told by my gastro, to start out with slow small bites and eat small amounts but more often. 5 meals instead of 3 and eating something every 2-3 hours. If I ate too much at one time it would make me have a wave of exhaustion/nausea, etc., come over me. I'd have to rest my head back until it passed (probably 20 minutes or so). In time I was able to learn my new signals of the amount I could eat comfortably. At almost 5 years since diagnosis I can almost eat a normal amount. But in the beginning it was slow and easy on the volume. If I ate a meal out, I was lucky to get a quarter of it in. But I got used to getting 3 more meals out of the leftovers :-) Now I almost always bring home 1/2 a meal and almost never start out with a salad or end with dessert and I go easy on a drink along with my meal. But gradually, my volume increased. That's great he's taking advantage of his feeding tube to help get in the needed calories. Hope this helps :-) Brenda

My operation was on November 12, 2012. My appetite did not come back until about five months from surgery, or about a month ago.

I did not ever have a feeding tube. During the whole process of five weeks of radiation therapy five days a week and chemotharapy four hours every Friday for that same period Then six weeks of recovery, then the operation, I lost 25 pounds.

I drank a lot of commercial liquid diet supplements, but did not like any of them.

As soon as I could after the operation, I began eating six small meals a day, at first I had to make myself eat and a lot of things did not sound or taste good.

Every day my wife makes me an 8 ounce milk shake with real ice cream, instant breakfeast and other ingredients that add to 400 calories. That is my mid morning snack/ meal.

I am lactose intolerant but find that I can eat 400 calories of real ice cream if I take a Lactaid tablet before and after eating it.

Looking back it was a gradual process for me. At present, I can eat a full meal, but I don't do that yet because it will give me nausea.

It has been just in the last month that I have begun to gain weight, now about a pound a week. Before a month ago, it was all i could do to keep from losing weight.

I was on a feeding tube for nearly 4 months following the surgery - seems that my particular surgeon (an expert in EC) was very conservative about nothing going into the new anatomy (even water for a month). Transitioning from the tube to solid foods was thwarted by at least 6 weeks by negligent care in a nursing home setting. It should've taken a few days from tube to puree to solids, but these nurses didn't get the memo. Lack of any coordination between my docs and the staff explains but really doesn't excuse this. It might be helpful for you & hubby to read about "dumping syndrome" rather than be surprised when/if it happens. There are no foolproof ways to avoid it, but being educated about it will provide you with maximum control. I'm 3 years out now and will likely have a lifelong problem of having absolutely no appetite. It's hard to make myself eat when I'm never hungry, so the battle is to stay above 110#.

Thanks for the information!

My sister was very sick with constant nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea for almost 3 months after her surgery. She recently told me that when she started eating after surgery, she would have her bowl of soup on one side of her and a pail to throw up in on the other side, since she couldn't keep anything down. After about 3 months, she started having good days, and is now eating small meals. Tell your hubby to hang in there!