Swallowing After Tongue Cancer

My husband had tongue cancer surgery on March 18.  Two thirds of his tongue was removed and the tongue was rebuilt by a plastic surgeon. It looks like a real tongue, but it is not a "god given tongue".  He is on a feeding tube and will be starting chemo and radiation within the next few weeks.  He cannot swallow and was told not to even try yet because if he tries to swallow and something goes wrong, the fluid may end up in his lungs.  We had a speech therapist come to the house a few times when he came home from the hospital and she gave him some exercises to do. She know longer makes house calls.  We will be checking on some speech therapy and will have that swallowing test done, but should we wait til after the radiation ?  I hear the radiation does a "number" on your throat, etc. and it may make it more difficult for him to go to therapy while undergoing radiation.  He is so worried that he will not ever be able to eat again.  The base of his tongue was left untouched/no cancer there.

Hello Faith,

                 I had 1/3 of my tongue removed, it was the base of the tongue. The back of the tongue, which was explained to me by the Doctors, reacts automaticly when food gets to that area and pushs the food down.

                 I was given the same instructions. Do not attempt to eat until I was told to by the Surgeon. I used the PEG tube for everything, including hydrating myself with water. I was told I had a 20 % chance of a speech problem, but, fortunately, that never happened. As far as eating, I had a neck disection also. My tongue was reattached to the side of my throat and has made the passage a bit smaller. I was told that I would have a 20% chance of having to use the PEG tube for the rest of my life, again, I'm lucky that I don't need it. I am very careful when eating. I take smaller bites and make sure I chew everything well.

                 I forgot this several times after the operation and after treatment. I have had 3 choking episodes and luckily my son was there each time to help me. I am very careful now. I can eat food again, but stay away from certain ones that are stringy.

                 Yes, the Radiation does play havic on the throat. The Ocologist will prescribe meds and make sure to stay ahead of the pain if at all possible.  As one survivor put it in another post on this board. After the treatment ends, the treatment still cooks for roughly 2-3 weeks afterwards. After that time, the healing begins.

               My Best to you Both