Hi Everyone! I am here b/c my dad had surgery to remove a 3cm tumor under his tongue back in May...he had a partial glossectomy & resection, all lower teeth removed, mandibulectomy and cervical lymph node removal. I am his primary caregiver. He will be starting radiation soon, as some of the nerve tissue came back positive for cancer, but all tumor borders & lymph nodes were clear. He is still not able to swallow anything, so he is still using his feeding tube for his nutrition. He is very fusterated not being able to swallow this far out (almost 2 months from surgery), and from what we were told the swallowing issues will not be any easier after radiation. When he does try to swallow saliva, he will cough or he says it feels like it gets "stuck" in his throat and will not move down any farther. When we met with the speech therapist last week, she said that it is too soon after surgery to be able to swallow and she is hesitant to have him attempt at swallowing anything b/c he choked when he went in for his barium study, so she wants to focus mainly on speech for now. To me, this kind of doesn�t make sense to me, as he is going for therapy b/c he cannot swallow, so why is this not being focused on at this time? Or are we trying to take things on too fast? Just wanted to get the opinion of some more knowledgeable people, since we are so new at this. How long does it typically take to regain swallowing function? He is getting very fusterated and depressed at not being able to swallow, especially with radiation coming up. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.