It's been almost 3 years ago that my husband Tim went through 36 treatments of radiation and 2 courses of chemo - no neck dissection for his r tonsil scc. All reports have been great. His ENT said there is very little scarring and no indication whatsoever of recurrence. We're not kidding ourselves and know it may come back at anytime, but so far so good. He's eating almost as he was before , except not as much spicy stuff. When I think back on the horrendous experience he went through extreme mucositis, a feeding tube and an esophageal stricture, I shudder.
By the way, he was a non-smoker and HPV negative. He had his tonsils out when he was a kid and the tumor was recessed and growing inward, which is why it was hard to diagnose.