Maggie

I also question whether or not the "severe reaction" you are suffering through is related to the Erbitux. The anecdotal evidence is that the worse the "rash", the better the Erbitux is workint. But when it's not the rash but super sensitivity to radiation damage, that can be an indicator that the Erbitux is not working on the cancer, but on the "healthy" cells.
That's exactly what happened to me and in hindsight, the MO would have stopped the Erbitux and switched me to carboplatin.
Instead I kept getting Erbitux each week and each week more and more skin would peel off my face and neck until I had to start with Vigilon dressings for second degree burns.
It could not hurt to ask your doctors about this. Again, they still have no practical test to weed out the unfortunate patients like myself whose genetic twists render Erbitux worthless for head & neck cancer, although they do have them for patients taking Erbitux for colon cancer. But excessive radiation dermatitis and failure of skin to grow back is a signal of concern.
Keep the Faith
Charm