Hi Joanna.. thanks for the response. No the chemo only shrunk the lymph nodes to a certain point and then no more so I did 49 radiation treatments. 39 regular and ten booster. The whole time I had radiation.. I had no idea what to expect. I had some very difficult times. About day 13 was the beginning of it all.. everything had started to taste like cardboard. Then about the 13th day things literally heated up. Sores on my tongue, roof of my mouth, lips, everywhere. I would lay down at night and cough. and cough and cough. Coughing led to vomiting and it only got worse. I tried to figure out how to eat. I was starving.. and watching my family eat. I remember I couldn't even cook for them because I couldn't taste the food and see if it was right.. I never even thought about that at the beginning. I kept choking so my sister and I figured out if I used a straw, I could suck down a sip of Insure and bypass the tongue. It took all day to get down a little can. I sure don't like remembering these times.. but the hardest part was no one knew what to do. My radiologist was a real jerk. I went down to 90 then 85 pounds.. I would go in crying.. I was bald, lines drawn on my neck. bleeding. Thank God I had a good friend for a dentist.. He came to see me and brought back some numbing gel for my mouth. I remember it burned like hell fire to put it on but it lasted almost a half hour so I would sit and look at the tube and decide if I had the guts to put it on. I usually did. They gave me nothing for pain.. I couldn't swollow it anyway. But the outcome was it killed the cancer. No one wants to do any of the things we have to do but it KILLS THE CANCER.. so there you have it. One of the hardest things was the guy in front of me in the radiation line didn't come one day. I usually could say an our father, hail mary and a glory be and it would be over.. this time it lasted for three sets.. I got nervous and started to pound my legs on the table.. they came in and I looked up and his plate was up on the machine instead of mine.. they had lined them all up and when he didn't show up, no one pulled the plate. I started to cry. They told me oh no..he has prostate cancer. and when I got home I had burns all over my back. I tried to tell the dr. the next day and he called me'confused'. They had to stop treatment for almost a week because I got so sick from that. Eventually I ended up at 72 pounds with all my clothes on and at the ER.. my dad took me in after he came to visit. My mom demanded a feeding tube and they said they couldn't do one at this late time. They called a priest and did last rights. I told my mom I was ready to go.. I couldn't take the pain. Then the er doc put some meds in my port ... and I finally felt like I might be able to hang in there. AMazing what drugs can do. He couldn't believe that I had done it without meds.. but I couldn't swollow . He gave me some syrup but it also burned. Everything has alcohol in it! Anyway.. the radiation put me in remission. My lastest deal here now eight years later is a radiation nodule.. and they told me that 80 % of people who have radiation get them between 6 months and nine years. That is what I am trying to learn more about. I am just amazed to find people who had this cancer after all this time. I went to MDACC to have it removed and I could not believe how many people were there. I had an excellent surgeon and am now one week post op. I feel so very lucky to be home.. when I left here I had no idea what it was, what they would do.. or when I would ever come home. I feel very lucky indeed.. you think you have trouble until you see an entire cancer hospital with everyone doing battle and having it worse than you. I have to go back in a month and I really am so glad I went there at all.. Beth