Thanks for the replies Eileen,David, Jerry and Gabriele,

I can't say I'm looking forward to the next couple of months but I think it's always better to know what's coming, when possible. Hopefully I will not have too many side effects but my RO did say that it was not going to be easy and that I shouldn't work through any of this 6 week treatment period or for 6 weeks afterwards and maybe longer. When she first told me this I burst into tears I think because the enormity of what I was facing really hit me. I intend to take this one day at a time and hopefully will be able to find ways to work with the physical issues as they present.

I'm really lucky that I have great support from family and friends and my husband is taking 8 weeks off from work to be my main carer. I'm sure that we will have our moments but I think (hope) that he is up to the task.

This site is a fantastic source of information from people with first hand knowledge so I'm really hopeful that as obstacles present themselves I will be able to get support and guidance from people who have been there and done that. It means so much more coming from people who really understand the issues, rather than just 'think' that they do. Thanks David for all your info - I'm sure that I will have some more specific questions in the weeks to come.

I will speak to the Drs about neck massage - but I am doing some stretches and currently have a good range of movement - it's the fluid build up that's the biggest problem. Would I be able to massage my neck while I'm having radiation? I just assumed that it would be too tender to touch.

Thanks for your support!

Sue