I'm just coming to the 4 month mark on my last radiation treatment. My oncologist team does not give feeding tubes to HPV throat cancers. I was never given one and I'm very happy now. I have no problems eating and swallowing. Bread is hard at time due to my dry mouth, but with the little water I manage it. You have to endure some pain as we all know. That pain gets less and less as time goes on. I understand the longer you're on a feeding tube, over time relearning how to swallow becomes a problem? I don't know though, I don't have M.D. behind my name. Good luck.