Hi Frances, Just to let you know - I too was amazed how quickly the burns to my husband's neck healed after radiation - in fact it seemed like it healed "overnight" considering how raw and blistered his skin/neck looked as he was going through this. What really helped for him was the Carrington Moisture Barrier Cream - a real GODSEND! He (my husband) was literally at some moments close to tears from the pain of the burn (and being a combat Marine soldier in Vietnam - that's something he tries NEVER to show me!) the pain was unreal. But as soon as I applied the cream - it was a miracle. If he didn't have that - I don't know what he would have done. The gauze - like you mentioned, tends to stick, so oftentimes - he would not use that, but it's so important to keep the neck clean above all - and there was a special cleansing spray that they gave him that I would use before putting on the cream, and the gauze when necessary. As far as the Belladonna - never tried that. I did hear about Aloe Vera as being beneficial to help mouth sores - but he never tried that either. He did try using Vitamin E (broke open a capsule) and applied that to coat the inside of his mouth for the mouth sores - but that wasn't all that great for him. And to address the issue about how even though the neck is healing but the throat pain seems to be getting worse - let me tell you - that seems to be par for the course. Same way for my husband. I'm sure there are many people here who will tell you that seems to be fairly "normal" - a lot is happening inside the mouth with the radiation hitting various fields - and it will without doubt cause pain and sensitivity. My husband has a whole arsenol of pain meds he takes - and that was a lifesaver too. The best advice I can give is to take one day at a time...and do the best you can with it. Hang in there and remember, like you said..............patience is the "lesson" to be learned here. But in the meantime, you will find many good "tutors" here to help along with that. Good luck and let us know how things go.