Chris

Some posters here have sailed through radiation and chemo with relatively little complications. Please don't start worrying too much now about all the bad things that could happen. The degrees of thick saliva, excess mucous, dry mouth etc vary tremendously with each individual. In rereading your post, I realized that I should have recommended that you not let your wheels turn so much that you get all wrapped up in fear.
It's like that old song: Que Sera, Sera, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see, que sera sera.
Sure its good to know what typically happens, but it's better to take deliberate notice that even when the "worst" happens, we bounce back, survive and thrive.
This OCF forum is great, but like most such forums, many of the cancer patients who do very very well during TX drift away. Work however as a second grade teacher does seem rather problematic.
Also get a TSH blood test NOW, before any TX. Insist on it and if the cancer doctors won't do it, any doctor can order one and insurance will pay for it. I've ranted about this before, but bottom line you will need to know what was "normal" if you want to get back to "normal" after TX with your TSH levels.
Charm