A lady on GJ forum had a very rare cancer behind her nose & went there & had excellent results. This cancer I think has only affected something like 319 people since it was discovered. Place out here that operates on it talked about it coming back. Mayo doesn't expect repeats, they like to get it all the 1st time. They were very nice to the lady & called her at home & she felt very safe in their hands. I was impressed with her treatment. Also hotel they stayed at had computer stuff so you could send updates to family & friends. She said they were so nice. It was in Winter so she did get advice from us for warm clothes. It's been warm summer but weather back there can change on a dime so take layered clothes so you can add to or take some off. I recall her cancer sometimes attacks neck & throat along with behind the nose so extremely delicate surgery. They use St. Mary's hospital for surgery but you might be going there or having treatment in clinic. Bro-in-law had Drs' at Mayo but he got there way too late(pain had started about 5 yrs before but he wouldn't change dr until he was half dead) but the family was very pleased at way they controlled his pain & said they were very caring. I think you will be in excellent hands. I'm from South Dak. & anyone there with serious medical problems is sent over there so they get lot of patients from surrounding states. Good Luck & they will take good care of you!

I think it's important not to make assumptions about what people should be able to do or not do at a certain age, whether they're 16 or 6 months. I do understand your feelings. My daughter has learning disabilities and has been learning how to cook for herself but sometimes she'll forget to turn the stove off. She put a plate in the microwave that shouldn't go there and it melted and also exploded food all over the inside. Nothing really awful but still it's a little scary leaving kids on their own when they just don't have those skills down yet. I have left mine alone and I was nervous the whole time but she did have one problem and she handled it perfectly. So I have to learn how to let go too. Anyway, I didn't mean to go on and on about that. I like the above writer's ideas of the frozen dinners. There are also microwavable pizzas that kids like. My SIL used to make sandwiches for a month at a time. She would make them, wrap them up individually and then return them to the bag the bread came in and refreeze them all. Her kids would take one out of the freezer in the morning and it would be ready to eat by lunchtime. Maybe you and your daughter could make some meals together before you go. At least make up a list of things she'd like to eat and start working a little bit at a time. One suggestion I remember from before was making sure you put a lable on each item frozen with cooking instructions on it. Maybe some suggestions of what needs to go with it, like salad or vegetable. If you get some canned fruit cocktail, you won't have to freeze it. Same with jarred spaghetti sauce (like Ragu or Prego). I hope all goes well. Congratulations on the new baby.

I forgot to say, I often use leftover spaghetti sauce, gravy or bbq sauce as a sandwich spread too. Chutneys are great as well. Right now I'm working on a jar of my peach-cranberry chutney that makes a fantastic addition to a sandwich, really jazzes it up. My husband loves the sandwiches I send to work with him...he says he doesn't know what I do to make sandwiches taste so good and makes a bit of a game out of trying to figure out what I've put in them. Today, he got half liverwurst with cranberry mustard, mayo, green onions, pepperjack, tomato, lettuce & mayo, and half pepper salami, chopped home cured black olives, cream cheese, shallots, roasted red bell pepper and lettuce.

Some hand held ideas could be mini empanadas, they could be made sweet or savory. I like this Mexican shrimp cocktail served from a lovely soup tureen or punch bowl. It would require little cups and perhaps tortilla chips for eating. You could do slider sandwiches with either machaca (shredded beef) or carnitas (pork). Albondigas skewers - Albondigas are a meatball soup and the meatballs have rice in them. The meatballs could be placed on skewers with other vegetables one would find in the soup. Or the meatballs could be served with toothpicks for ease. Other skewers could have carne asada or grilled chicken thighs or breasts that are seasoned appropriately. I have also made cream puff dough seasoned with cayenne and cheese (or alternating green chile and cheese) and those make a great appetizer, that is somewhat familiar.