My friend had stage 4b tonsil cancer. He is young so they treated it with cisplatin & radiation in the same manner you are talking about. This is aggressive and it can be tough but he had a complete response with this treatment. Pet scan showed no cancer 3 months after he finished it.They say side effects are a little worse but the only real issues he struggles with now are dry mouth and weight gain. Taste returned 100%, he even likes things now he didn't before tx. I heard in recent studies, you get better results with cisplatin added to the radiation.Good luck & God bless!Maureen