I'm reading so many horror stories on here I thought I'd post something more positive. I was diagnosed about a year ago (March 15th, 2011) with stage 4 back of the tongue with lymph gland involvement. I went through the 7 weeks of radiation and 7 weeks of chemo once per week. I was done at the end of May and my summer was totally horrible! Totally. Yet by September I had my feeding tube removed and finally started eating normally. I'm just under 2 months from it being a year since my last treatment (May 26th, 2011) and have been improving all along. I eat about 80% normal now and still have some dry mouth and tasting issues but swallowing isn't bad at all. Meats, fish and very dry foods are the hardest but I add water and hang in there.

I'm back to playing guitar and singing in my band and I play golf as much as I can. I am somewhat concerned about future bone problems from radiation as I still have occasional "reminder pain" in my left jaw but I'm also looking at life with more of focus on the present than the future. I KNOW something else could occur so I try to enjoy life while I can. I feel so bad for those who have endured multiple procedures and treatments but admire their statements that they're glad to be alive. I admit I'm not sure I'd be.