Philip,

Sorry to here about the diagnosis. Dang HPV got me to, almost 5 Years ago to the day. The good part is that is was 5 years ago. That being said. Treatment, is down right brutal. Standard treatment is 7 week of radiations with 3 big bags or weekly cisplatin. Weekly seems to be easier, Those who try 3 big bags don't always get the third dose, I did not.

My standard spiel is that there is about 6-8 week of hell. During that time your ability to do the things you might normally do may become extremely difficult. Cutting grass, taking out garbage, work on home, cars, ......... at least for me, that all stopped. My advice is to clear your schedule. You have a couple of weeks, take advantage of them. Get the house, garage, cars, other projects done, out of the way, or at least find contingency. If you start in July, August and September are going to be rough.

Rads start kicking in about week 2 and the effects are cumulative and it just gets worse every day until about 14 days after last treatment. It really does not get better then, it just stops getting worse. At that is a Huge thing mentally. Cisplatin can really through your body for a loop starting 12 hours after infusion and it may last 2-3 days. Everyone is different but nausea, vomiting, "chemo fog", loss of appetite, and constipation are real and make things uncomfortable. Form me, driving to the center was a "no go" Tues and Wed after Mon cisplatin.

Just get through the next feeding, Feeding turn to days, which turn to weeks. Its a grind.

The good news is that it does end and things do start improving. And for many people like myself the treatment is effective. As I said I am just under 5 years out and doing well.

Posting also helps a lot of people "empty out" thoughts and feeling and generally provides comfort and reassurance.

Good luck with treatment.