Lots of oral cancer patients have "silent aspiration" including me. You do not sense that it is happening but when you swallow you are not completely able to close of your trachea and some of what ever you are drinking ends up in your lungs. The result if this accumulates is aspiration pneumonia. I have had it several times, usually if I am laying down for a protracted period like when I get the flu, which facilitates collection and not clearing in your lungs.

Have him get a barium swallow test to confirm if this is happening to him.

I do not aspirate solids at this point, the the dysphagia that is part of all this is radiation induced, and is getting worse the farther I get out from my treatments. I suspect that one day somewhere in the future I will be back on a PEG feeding tube for the duration if it gets bad enough, and the aspiration gets to extreme. There will be no other solution.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.