Two Dysphagia Sufferers Walk Into A Supermarket.

How two strangers with head and neck cancer found connection, shared food strategies, and sparked a bigger idea.

Deb messaged me out of the blue.

All the way from sugarcane country - Ayr, near Townsville, she said, “I’m heading south to Adelaide. Can we meet for soup?”

We’d never met. But we ’knew’ each other.

For my non Aussie readers - Australia is a big place , Townsville (Ayr) to Adelaide is much like London to Rome or New York to Dallas.

Through the scars. The NG & PEG tubes. The not-so-sexy side of surviving head and neck cancer. We had different physical scars but the emotional side was our bond. I suspect if we had met in our previous lives we’d have played poker, smoked cigars and tossed back straight whiskey with aplomb. Danced on tables and well - we agreed there was a silver lining to HNC - even if you had to search for it.

Through this strange, strong, ever-growing village of people who can't swallow easily, but can still connect deeply, we compared notes.

Deb found me through my writing. Through this work. Through GAG. | eating life - a story I had told.

We ended up in the supermarket, swapping dysphagia food hacks like we’d known each other for years.

Skinless footy franks? Game-changer, Deb doesn’t know it yet, I didn’t say they were healthy but it beats par boiling a sausage and then skinning it. Trust me I have done it too many times to count.

Silken tofu? A revelation. Great in both savoury and sweet dishes. Protein packed and the consistency of smooth set custard or creme caramel.

We laughed, we shared coffee and in those few hours, I was reminded why I do this.

This isn’t about being bitter it’s about getting better - a phrase she offered from Young Tongues.

It’s about restoring dignity, reclaiming commensality, and reminding each other we’re not invisible.

Deb’s visit confirmed a few things I’ve been thinking, and it’s pushed me into planning something bigger. Proof that writing about social eating, showing up consistently, and sharing what works does matter.

But she confirmed an idea I have around travel and dysphagia and combining the two. A hiking retreat as it were. I am considering the logistics of this so if that’s of interest make sure you are on the list here, to stay up to date with the planning and thinking, if that’s your thing.

You can influence someone’s eating life from across the country. You never know who reads what, what they are going through whilst they are reading, what they can’t eat that day, what triggered a sneeze, a cough, a tear.

Anguish, joy or utter exhaustion.

I posed some questions to Deb - crafted as follows: what would you think about XYZ, what If I did this, or that? I am an ideas person. Often it is just the wonder of the idea, often the execution is a different matter.

It has been a long day of clinical meetings, I have been interviewed by two new podcasts and I hope made further in roads to launching new resources.

Sign up to my personal site here This is where you will be notified first of what’s happening in the commensality & travelling space.

GAG | eating life has impact.
This is about visibility. Social connection, finding practical ways forward.

If you are interested I am presenting at the inaugural Australian IDDSI conference in Monday 20th October 2025 in Brisbane.

Until then - try a skinless footy frank, scour your local food market for silken tofu, and as always…

Eat Well.