@cappy51: What a wonderful career your husband has been involved in! I had a colleague who had a large portion of her tongue removed due to cancer but reconstruction had not been offered to her. That sounds like a remarkable option.

Speech & Language Pathology (SLP) will likely be intricately involved in the rehab process to help with such things as swallowing and speech for post-treatment interventions. It may take several months and perseverance but with your histories and outlook you both have the mindset to surrmount this.

When do you meet with the lead professor? If you can, please provide an update after that meeting.