Swallowing issues and residual foci showing on PET scan

My husband completed treatment for SCC of the base of the tongue in early January. He was placed on the G tube in early November and continues to get his nutrition through this. He is still unable to eat normally and is only allowed to swallow thickened liquids throughout the day. He continues to have a lot of phlegm. He is followed by speech therapy and will have his third swallow study tomorrow to see if there has been any improvement in that he continues to be a risk for aspiration. He also had his PET scan a week ago that showed improvement but also showed two residual foci in the area. The cancer team referred him back to ENT for another scope and a possible biopsy of those foci. Needless to say, we were disheartened to hear that and pray that if a biopsy is done that it's nothing to do with cancer and just healing tissue. The doctor indicated that it would be too soon to do radiation and that chemo and/or surgery would be recommended. Again, this scares me as in reading the discussions on the surgery, it sounds like a miserable and long recovery. Chemo itself scares me. Has anyone out here dealt with the swallowing issues and either residual foci? Thanks for any input.