Pete, For a second there, I thought I was reading a question from the SAT's.

As far as drinking goes...I would do what you personally feel comfortable doing. From what my doctors told me, I wouldn't feel comfortable having a drink 2 or 3 years post tx. This OC left a bad tast in my mouth....no pun intended.

Heck--I can't even handle black pepper..And I love spices.

Charlie, I also finished tx on November 4th...It's hard to eat but it's getting easier. Try to drink as much as possible to get those muscles working again...I was having trouble too and drank a lot of water. I think that's what helped me.

7-16-08 age 37@Dx, T3N0M0 SCC 4.778cm tumor, left side of oral tongue, non smoker, casual drinker, I am the 4th in my family to have H&N cancer
8-13-08 left neck dissection and 40% of tongue removed, submandibular salivary gland & 14 nodes clean, no chemo, IMRTx35
11-4-08 Recovering & feeling better