Pam

My first go round with cancer, I just toughed it out: no PEG, no swallowing therapy: just Pain & seltzer water rinses with each sip of Ensure. My swallowing was slow but consistent each and every day as otherwise I would have starved. (I did drop down to about 125 lbs which at 5'11" is unhealthy). I quickly progressed after TX to regain full swallowing and chewing ability and could eat most foods.
After the cancer came back, the surgery left me unable to swallow at all. I am still on the PEG 100%. That would be bad enough but then I had a second round of radiation which I was forewarned would severely hamper my chances of swallowing again.
I have had a total of 40 swallowing therapy sessions (24 with VitalStim) of an hour a piece as well as practiced an hour a day with the standard swallow therapy exercises: forceful or effortful swallow, mendelsohn manuever; suprglotti swallow; and my personal favorite, the Shaker exercise. I have been doing the daily exercises for 5 months now and still have failed miserably three Barium Swallow tests. My next MBS is Thursday.
Hope you have far better luck than I with your sessions. Bear in mind that I am at the extreme end here and do not even qualify for any of the NIH studies due to too much surgery and radiation (NIH likes to at least have a fighting chance to prove a therapy works by excluding the worst case scenarios)