I had same issues. Got feeding tube. All really good now and weight back on. Haven’t swallowed anything but a sip of water since 2023.

I experienced a different sort of problem years after my cancer treatment in 2006. I spent $4,500, seeing multiple doctors, trying to get a diagnosis, which ended up being baroreflex failure. It's been a roller coaster ride trying to sort that out over the past 8 years. Don't let your father give up on getting answers. The incidence of this cancer is on the rise, and someone out there is probably experiencing the same thing, and they may even have some answers. Good luck!

Tylenol (Amazon )makes a powder which goes down easy and has a nice flavor .
I too am battling weight loss and take three high calorie boost per day in addition to three small meals. I’m not putting on weight but maintaining.
Docs are pushing feeding tube but I’ve avoiding it for a couple of years now.
It’s a quality of life issue.
It’s all pretty depressing,

I am from South Jersey. Treated in 2008 and also have dysphagia, neck arthritis, etc. I was treated at Jefferson and my surgeon retired a few years ago. Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations of Drs. to see. In discussing with my new Dr. in the Jefferson group, there is a general knowledge that dysphagia happens, but not much in terms of treatment. Courses of action (studied and recommended by Drs.) are not prevalent.

In saying that, I do swallowing and neck exercises every day. And, as I'm sure your father knows..... eat small pieces; have the liquid ready. Realize meals will take longer than normal to finish. My wife finishes her meals and I'm only 1/3 to 1/2 way through my first plate. Sometimes I get impatient, rush and then get food stuck in my throat. Or I don't get a second helping because everyone else is finished and I don't want to delay them. We also have to get into a self preservation mode.

I have found I'm better with meals early in the day. Also, talking during meals doesn't help (breath out during talking seems to be counter to getting food down the other way). Smaller meals. Maybe 5 "meals" a day vs 3.

Last, even though we all had some form of throat cancer and treatment in common, we're all different regarding overall health and how the side effects affect us.

Sorry to drone on. I do have my annual follow up at Jefferson in the next few weeks and will do some probing. I'll post again if I gather new information on long term support. And certainly, look for input from blogs like this. They help confirm what we experience as survivors is somewhat common in a general sense and helpful hints are listed.

I assume that he has been evaluated for esophageal strictures. If so, strictures can be treated with repeated dilations. Unfortunately, post radiation induced fibrosis is an ongoing process. Increased fibrotic tissue may oft times form adhesion and entrapment of the neck and throat musculoskeletal elements and their innervation that may impair the oral, pharyngeal and esophageal phases of deglutition (swallowing).
Swallowing exercises may be helpful depending upon the severity of fibrosis.
I've had MS related achalasia for > 30 yrs which has been further complicated by my diagnosis and aggressive treatment of stage 4 squamous cell esophageal carcinoma.
I developed sever post radiation fibrosis and stricture formations that rendered me non-PO for liquids and solids. I had G-tube placed 3 yrs ago and it markedly improved my nutritional and hydration status. I was able to regain weight from 122 to 162 lbs over several months and have maintained that weight ever sense.

I was able to find a thoracic surgeon who was able to successfully dilate my esophageal strictures to allow to me to eat and drink again. I have repeat dilations every 3 months.
I still have my G-tube in place to use when I become progressively dysphagic between dilations.

I am also fortunate that one of my daughters is a speech language pathologist who specializes in swallowing disorders associated with strokes, TBIs and cancer. She has assisted/ instructed me with various effective swallowing exercises.

Thank you for your informative post. I have had the occasional episode of extremely high blood pressure (246/140) but most of the time my blood pressure is low (80/50 or slightly lower). When I am sitting in a chair, I feel completely normal, but if I get up to walk to another room, I get dizzy and sometimes pass out and wake up moments later on the floor. At night if I get up and in the early morning, my symptoms are the worst (low blood pressure and extreme fatigue. I am taking a small dose of fludrocortisone or Florinef 0.5mg/day and Midrodine 2.5mg/day and as needed. I had been prescribed Midrodine three times a day with the last dose to be taken at least 4 hours before bedtime but it seemed to result in more frequent episodes of the extreme hypertension, so now I rarely take more than the one pill in the morning. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I have acquired hypothyroidism following radiation and take Levothroxine 75 mcg/day to treat that. I was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about three years ago and I have lost 60 lbs. since then and I have lost a significant amount of my strength as well. Most of the weight loss was intentional while trying to eliminate sugar and carbs from my diet, in order to get my blood sugar level back to near normal. Some of the recent weight loss is due to the feeding tube, which seems to be stable now. Admittedly, I have a hard time staying as hydrated as I should and I need to make more effort to do so. Using a syringe to pump 2 oz. at a time, it is difficult to get enough each day and I tend to shortchange myself on water intake.
All good wishes to you.

In 2003 I had chemotherapy and radiation because of tonsil cancer. Over the years the side effects of radiation have been many. The loss of saliva and the resulting dry mouth and then jaw bone deterioration and the loss of teeth. Eating was difficult but I could still swallow then around 2020 I started coughing a lot during and after eating which really increased as time went on. Also the types of foods I could eat started dwindling down to mostly soups, mashed potatoes, ice cream, etc. I developed aspiration pneumonia and was hospitalized 3 times in 2 years. After the 3rd time I had a g-tube surgically placed. This has helped to regain weight and energy but now I take in nothing by mouth except a bit of coffee in the morning. My coughing has subsided but the dry mouth issues have worsened and I am worried about keeping the rest of my teeth. In the beginning my doctors told me that if I lived long enough I WOULD develop dysphagia and a compromised immune system. I have no words of wisdom about how to deal with the problems radiation causes but I can say without it my life would have been shortened by 20+ years and most of those years have been really good.