My friend’s husband was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and pharynx over five years ago. He underwent extreme radiation treatments, along with chemo. My friend had to eventually feed him through a tube during his treatments. The main issue he has had since then, is that the radiation destroyed his salivary glands, so he has no spit at all. The doctor tried a few different medications, but nothing has worked. He has to make sure he drinks plenty of milk or soda when he eats, so the food will go down without any problem.
That is awful that they were destroyed. My oncologist told me drinking a lot and sucking on hard candies would lessen the chance of that happening after the radiation.