Hi all!

My husband's neck dissection last week went well, and the pathology report was great - he had had (prior to chemo and radiation) a 6cm tumor in one node and at least one other cancerous node, but after chemo and radiation - no positive nodes! They found a tiny spot (4mm) that still had viable cancer in the residual tissue which they removed but overall were THRILLED with his response to the treatment.
That said - this is his second neck dissection, and this one came with a problem we did not have before. Swallowing. After all he has gone through, he finally relented and had a tube put in yesterday. They did do some damage to the spinal accessory nerve, so his tongue goes to one side, and this is what seems to be the issue. Anyone have any experience how long this lasts? Will he be allowed to eat while on the peg tube?

CG to H, Joe, 30 yrs old. 7/06-stage I SCC removed from tongue. 1/08-radical neck rt side, 8 positive nodes, imrt/cisplatin 6 wks. 1/09-6cm pos node on left neck. IMRT and carbo/taxol/erbitux 6 wks, surgery in April. 7/09-recurrence left neck. Erbitux, taxotere, 2nd opinion scheduled at MDA...