Jef, I'm glad that they're taking an aggressive approach given that your cancer has shown that it's aggressive. Many of us got through cisplatin without any long term effects. The short term effects (nausea and lowered blood counts) are pretty inevitable but there are medications that help. As for kidney problems, be sure to have your kidney function thoroughly tested beforehand. I had had a bad kidney infection a few years before my cancer diagnosis and a CT showed there might be an area on my kidney that had been damaged by that, but the tests I had of kidney function showed no problems and I had no problems with my kidneys from the cisplatin. As for the hearing loss, just stay alert for symptoms during treatment.

I may be wrong about this (there are other peopke on the board who know more) but I thought I had read here that now some CCCs do Erbitux and cisplatinum as treatment along with radiation. But your MO may think that's really overkill for you.....

Nelie