Esophagus Stricture and damaged epiglottis from radiation damage

my dad is 73 and finished radiation and chemo 2 years ago for thyroid cancer and non-hodgkins lymphoma.  he has a tracheostomy and a feeding tube that he has been living with for two years.  he was told he has a stricture in his esophagus and that is the reason he is unable to swallow (he can't even swallow his saliva).  they tried to stretch it 3 times with no success.  recently he did a barium swallow test and found out his epiglottis is damaged from the radition as well.  before this they were talking about surgery to rebuild his esophagus.  now that his epiglottis is damaged we're worried that they are going to give up on repairing him so he can eat again.  he is cancer free and goes to Fox Chase Cancer center in Philadelphia.  Has anyone had this problem or can any one offer any advice or hope?

thanks