Allan,
Welcome! Paragraphs are your friend. They make your thoughts easier to understand.

What you are describing is the 'new normal'. We all discover it. Things are not like they were, and they never will be. However, things will get better, more tolerable, more acceptable. You will heal, you may get some saliva function back, you will probably have to carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go.

It's ok. It's great to be alive. Remember, not too long ago, this cancer was a death sentence.

dx 2/13/06. modified radical neck dissection 3/9/06 multiple biopsies of upper airway and direct laryngoscopy. 1 of 47 lymph nodes positive for metastatic undifferentiated carcinoma (lymphoepithelioma). Unknown primary. Finished radiation 5/24/06.