Mommapez, I had a very large tumor in my mouth, nodal involvement, and 5 years ago finished surgery, rad, and chemo. I feel terrific. Wayne, above, makes a very important point in that you have to be ready to BELIEVE you can fight this monster. I seriously never had any doubt that I would get through the horrible treatment and come out the other side. In fact, I psyched myself out to handle things much worse than the actuality. I really do think this makes a difference. For every person like me who has been there and moved on, there must be legions of others, so do NOT get hung up on statistics. You are your own statitistic, and that is all there is to it. So fight the good fight! And know that we have your back.