Ray,
you need to put the details of your adventure in the signature section at the bottom. If you are getting IMRT, then your salivary function could take as long as 18 months for a full recovery (at least, what is going to recover). The stringy mucositus will recover much faster, for many of us, it just stopped suddenly about a month or so post Tx. For me the mouth sores were the slowest to heal, some taking mouths.

As far as feeling better. You will start turning the corner about 3 weeks post Tx and your initial progress will be incredibly slow - typically measured in 3 week increments to notice the slightest changes. Figure on one month of recovery for every week of treatment. At 2 or so months I was able to start eating solid (soft) food.

Keeping your calories and water intake (2-3 liters/day) up will aid your recovery a lot. Be on the lookout for opportunistic infections like thrush. Go to the doctor or ER immediately whenever you have a fever that exceeds 100.5 degrees. You'll have to manage constipation as well since it can be a major problem because of the pain meds.

Congrats on making it to your 25th - let's hope the machine doesn't break down and you can finish on time to get started with the healing. Don't expect any changes at first and it may well even get worse for a time.

Be patient.