Thanks to everyone for your tips, advice and support! My dad recovered from his surgery like a champ with only minor scarring on his neck and a slight speech impairment.

All along the doctors were saying that he wasn't going to need radiation, but alas, there was a possibility that the cancer could have moved into a nerve and so he is now 4+ weeks into radiation therapy.
He's pretty much lost his ability to taste anything but fats, his throat is sore all the time, his tongue is swollen, he just got put on antibiotics for thrush, he's losing weight, he has no appetite...the usual. However he said that the hardest part of all of this is the constant dry-mouth. His salivary glands have pretty much stopped working, and his mouth is always dry. He wakes up 3-4 times per night to drink water because his mouth is so dry. Apparently cough drops and lozenges don't help either. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Magen