Great job on getting through rads without a feeding tube! Not easy. I lost about 10-15 lbs thru rads on a 155 lb 6' frame. You gotta force feed yourself things that taste like cardboard (or worse). I recall the list of what i could stomach got really short (about 15 items).

It is scary. I can recall conversations with Doctors telling me and my wife that i may not be able to speak, eat, feeding tubes for life, etc. But, good news, my life is back to full speed and has been for a couple years. It took many months though. What took over an hour to eat soon after surgery now takes about 15 min. I can recall a few of my first regular foods (like scrambled eggs or french toast) took soooo long to eat. I could barely manipulate it. I can now speak and be understood. Speech took months to clear up but i could talk to strangers fairly quickly after surgery if they were patient with me. I remember jumping on a conference call with a customer about 6 weeks after surgery and thinking let's take this tongue for a test drive! I still have a lisp and it comes and goes depending on what i eat, hydration ? not sure exactly what causes it to vary but it does.

The upshot is things kept getting better. The pace of crowns and root canals has even started to slow a little these last 6 months. Even three years out, I still slowly notice improvements in what i can taste and eat. Ketchup has been one of the harder ones for me but i can now eat it straight up on french fries (took almost 3 years).

I hope you find a good dentist. I got lucky and found a local one with some experience with oral cancer and she is quite patient and attentive. I am in there every 3 months for regular cleanings plus all the work on top of that. They know me well!

I am rambling. Prayers for no more cancer are sent your way. This cancer ride is a damn roller coaster that none of us ever knew we were in line for the rest of our lives. Hang in there.

Stay safe and keep the faith,
Nels