Hi Len, I can only refer to Mike's progress, knowing that everyone is different while still similar in some ways.

Before his surgery/rads his ENT told us it would be a year before he truly felt himself again. We both poo-poo'd that. Mike felt sure 3 months and I was thinking more like 6. Guess what, it truly was a year before he felt close to 100%.

As to foods, once he tried, he found he could eat more than he thought he could. Unfortunately for him, the variety has decreased over the last 2 years - partly due to the scarring in his esophagus from the rads and partly due to a wide variety of things (a food that is fine one time, won't work the next).

That said, some of the first things he could eat and enjoy were soups, pasta with lots of sauce (although not spicy since that did and still does somewhat burn), a variety of soft foods with gravy. Hot dogs were probably the first food, shrimp as well (but that's not something he likes a lot of). Oatmeal, eggs, dry cereal, yogurt, pudding, ice cream all work for him now. He often breaks his bacon on patty sausage up and mixes them in with his poached eggs &/or his grits.

Chocolate was the last taste to go and the last to return. Many foods he disliked before or was "bland" over, he now likes. Other foods he loved he either can't tolerate or now dislikes the taste. He puts enough sugar on his cereal/oatmeal to make a diabetic keel over <g>.

Hope this helps a little bit....