Then he took a deep breath and told Higgins, who had been the radio voice of Michigan hockey for 25 years, that a biopsy would determine if he had oropharyngeal cancer. (Used with permission from Henry Ford Health System)After radiation, taste usually returns in three months and dry mouth often reverses within a year, Siddiqui said. Al Randall Higgins. (Henry Ford Health Systems.) I want to live to help other people,” said Higgins, who volunteers to drive cancer patients to their appointments.