Bill -- I am approaching the 1 year anniversary of the end of my treatment in a couple of weeks, and continue to struggle with the neck tightness and tenderness. I have tenderness on both sides, as my neck dissection was bilateral. I can eat reasonably well, but do need considerable amounts of fluid for some foods. My taste is about 85% of the way back, maybe a little more. Chocolate and a few other things are not very good yet, and overall taste is somewhat muted.

Dry mouth is ongoing, but I use the Biotene products religiously, and drink lots of water. Salagen helps a little.

Finally, I just had about $2,500 of dental work to repair radiation damage to most of my front teeth. Still have some discoloration near the gumline, but DDS says that daily fluoride treatments and rigorous brushing, flossing can prevent these from decaying. Teeth are still all there, and they still work, so I figure I am ahead of the game.

Keep posting and asking questions. We are all here to help.