Baby steps is important - Aspiration into the lungs can cause pnuemonia. From the radiation and surgical damage to atrophy, it will take time to get the swallowing mechanism back in order.

I found in the early stages of swallowing solid food that "prepositioning" it on the back of the tongue helped, you just have to experiment what works best for you. Always remember that moist foods work best (even now a year out).

It is hard to find a restaurant that can cook chicken without drying it out. You'll discover all kinds of things you took for granted before.

This disease and the recovery from it forthwith, will stretch your bounds of patience.