I posted this in the after treatment forum but I suspect this will be a great place for it as well, so here goes.

First, let me say I am so grateful for this site. My dad was diagnosed with oral cancer (base of tongue) in March 2011 at a stage 3. Primary tumor and in two lymph nodes on the left side. He was briefly cancer free until a new tumor was discovered in March 2012. The cancer has reocured on the base of his tongue and in two lymph nodes although they were considered "encapsulated" whatever that means. He just had his most recent surgery on 5/10/12 to remove microscopic tumors that were left after the first surgery in late April 2012. The surgery was quite extensive and he can no longer swallow. They used a pectoral muscle to reconstruct the tongue and a place in his jaw where the tissue was too irradiated to hold a patch (from the less invasive April surgery) and heal properly. We are so terrified that he did this in vain and he is really depressed. He has a trach and a feeding tube (stomach). He failed the swallowing test he took Friday and they did not detect a swallowing or cough reflex. They recommended speech therapy. He is understandably devastated at this news and wants the trach out ASAP. I guess I want to ask other survivors and care givers if this scenario ever happened to them and if they or their loved one were able to swallow again and eat. I also would be curious about the effectiveness of speech therapy and how long it took them to learn to swallow again. I realize every case is different and has many different possibilities but I want to give him some hope because he feels like giving up and it is tearing my heart out. Thank-you so much for any and all advice you guys may have. I love all the useful information on this site and everyone seems so kind:)I am sorry if my terminology is not correct and there is not enough detail. I wish none of us had to deal with this awful disease. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this post.

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