your story sounds like the same one as my husband's but he is a year out from all treatments. He went through a lot of swallowing issues because he didn't see the need to do the exercises he had been given before treatment even started. The speech pathologist told him it might be too late to get swallowing reflex back but I will tell you that she scared him enough to follow thru with the exercises and now, there isn't anything he cannot eat or swallow. The lymphodema is gone after using some kind of machine? I never saw it so I have no idea what it looked like. Even most of the coughing has died down and while he carries a pop with him most of the time, I think it's mostly because he wants one to drink, not because he needs it.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, it's just a slow moving tunnel. Best wishes

ETA mine did not have any surgery. just radiation and chemo.