Kerry,
Although my cancer was not of the same type as your husband's, my situation wasn't better, if not worse than his because I had lymph node involvement too. Both tumors on the primary site and the neck were too big to be operated and so I just had concurrent chemo-radiation. I didn't have IMRT, either and the whole treatment lasted 7 weeks.It was hoped that the treatment could shrink the tumors to make operation easier. I was so fortunate that after the treatment, there were no more cancerous cells detected and therefore surgery was not necessary. Of course there were complications like high fever during treatment but with proper medication and professional care, things could improve. I am now almost 5 years in remission. Just hope that my story can give you some encouragement. Don't be afraid to ask the doctor questions because you are dealing with a life and death issue. People here can also give you enormous support and I'm glad you have found this forum.

Karen