Thank you both for your reply. Yes, we are learning quickly that this will be a long road with many ups and downs...in a way, I feel that his surgeon did not prepare us for exactly what to expect after surgery-but what is done is done.

The hard thing for my father, I think is that he is a very anxious person to begin with. Add in the limitations of not being able to eat normally and working/doing everyday things w/o getting tired is taking a toll not only physically on him, but mentally as well.

The good thing is that he is making sure he is taking in enough...right now he is up to about 3000-3500 calories/day as he has lost alot of weight in the past month (he is 6'4" and weighs around 145lbs).

He has also had difficulty with the skin graft that they took on his arm to replace tissue/bone in mouth from surgery...he has lost all motor function in that hand so he is going to PT for that...the surgeon says he hasnt ever seen that happen before. He is a machinist for his job, so add that on top of everything else he is very anxious and worried about how everything will turn out.

Not looking forward to the radiation that is ahead, as I know this will be extremely difficult for him due to the nature of his personality...he likes to always be on the go and I know that with radiation it will take its toll on him...he is already pushing his limits right now. The doctor did prescribe him some anti-anxiety medication, he likes to stick with only using that at night to help with sleep and sometimes that doesnt really help much.