One month post hemiglossectomy, removal of two positive lymph nodes with forearm free flap graft, removal of lower teeth, ng tube replaced by PEG in the past week, trach remains in place, I had a positive experience with hospital staff. Tomorrow I begin 6 weeks of radiation therapy 5 days/week with adjunctive chemo 1 day/week.

My tongue remains swollen. The doctors have said that my tongue will reduce in size by the end of radiation. Has anyone else experienced this? Speech therapy is not scheduled until the end of March.

I practice swallowing with 10 spoons full of thick pudding or yogurt, etc. 3 times a day. I am trying to maintain water and caloric intake but it becomes a bit too much on some days. I consume 7 cans of Jevity 1.5 daily and try to keep my water intake near 64 ozs. I am having difficulty in adjusting these throughout the day. Does anyone have advice on how to best manage this.

Thanks for any feedback.