Thank you....very much........ To say the least, it is a most humbling experience, and a most appreciative one, to read your comments.

Meanwhile, a brief update. I consulted my radiation doc who was annoyed, and maybe even angered, that 7+ months had passed since I had ignored his unambiguous advice, which of course, has not changed. He noted the enlarged and hardening lymph node but was a bit relieved that the nostril camera suggested only a slight change in the base of tongue cancer.

I'm in the process now of finding out what to prepare myself for once I begin the 7+ weeks of radiation with or w/o chemo.
He did say I would need a feeding tube in that there would be significant impairment to my taste, eating habits, etc. Exactly how much impairment and for how long....I neglected to learn.
Meanwhile, I am trying to secure a living space close to the hospital.

DX in 12/2010. Stage 4 SCC HPV+ BOT swollen lymph. I've spent the past 3 years away from medical treatments. Instead I've focused on good nutrition, active exercise, singing, laughing, oral exercises and such. I've had neither pain nor discomfort. But I haven't been able to kill the cancer. So, I'm now considering robotic surgery and/or radiation.