Hi Kirk, North Hills is in the San Fernando Valley, it just use to be called Sepulveda. Did you go to high school out here? Small world...I have a question for you and anyone else out there. At the end of my husband Ron's 3rd week of radiation he woke up one morning coughing up blood clots. He couldn't breath so we had to call the paramedics. Long story short, they had to put a trach in his throat to keep his airway clear, and he wound up in ICU for several days because they had to pack his throat to get the bleeding to stop. His blood was not coagulating the way it should, they guessed it was from malnutrition (he hadn't been eating enough because his throat was so sore), the radiation, and he had taken a couple of aspirin (not realizing they are blood thinners). They got the bleeding stopped but kept the trach in until he finished treatment, just to be on the safe side. It's been a little over 2 weeks since he finished the radiation, but his throat will sometimes start bleeding when he coughs up the mucus. He gets so nervous every time he sees blood, I know that previous episode scared him to death (as well as the rest of us). Did you experience coughing up blood? His ENT doctor said to expect that because his throat is so "trashed" from the radiation, but it's so scary. When this happens we give him ice chips and put an ice pack on his throat, but was wondering if anyone else has any advice?