My name is Debbie also! I'm 42 years old from Iowa. I had SCC Base of Tongue 2 years ago with rad/cisplatin/5fu, right neck nodes removed.

I wish I could say that swallowing returned, but indeed it has not for anything that's solid. I survive on juice, milks, yogurts, scandishakes, cream soups, yogurt, runny mashed potatoes. If I swallow a small piece of canned fruit, for example, it sticks on the back of my throat and produces a negative sensation. I generally hack it up (sorry for the icky description). I've had swallowing therapy and barum swallow tests. The ENT says that the area is too dry and the swallowing muscle is hard and immobile. He believes it's an unfortuate side effect of the treatment. He says most of his patients eat most things except meat and bread.

I hope things go better for you in this area than they are for me! I truly miss eating real food.

Good luck, Debbie