The statistics I found, either at the NCI or ACS site (don't remember) show the following survival rates for head and neck cancers:

1 yr = 81%
5 yr = 56%
10 yr = 41%

On an individual level, these figures don't mean jack sh$#. Only in large populations do statistics become significant. I had stage IV disease with node involvement, yet my docs gave me a 70-75% shot at 5 year disease-free survival. I'm over 8 months post treatment and my check up last month was all good news. While the experience has certainly rubbed my nose in my own mortality; emotionally, every night I still expect to wake up tomarrow and press on with life.

-Brett