Liz, my chemo was very similar,when I was on the 5FU for 4 days I rinsed my mouth 4 times a day with salt water and ate popsicles a day for the week and the week after and I had very minor sores which lasted only a couple of days, they were not painful and did not cause to stop eating anything at all. Hope this helps a little. Bob

LIZ THAT SHOULD READ 6 POPSCILES A ADAY, bOB

Thanks everyone! I will have her try the popsicles. Mary is going to do 3 cycles of chemo, Taxotere/Cisplatin/5FU followed by radiation with low-dose chemo. She knows the radiation will interfere with eating and that she will have a peg tube- I don't have the heart yet to tell her how bad it is going to get- I think it will discourage her and it is still about 7 weeks off.
As far as the HPV testing, I will ask when we visit the MD next week, makes sense since she had no other risk factors. I work in a Pedi office where we recently started giving Gardisil-apparently it is being tested for use in males also. They better fast track this testing, with this cancer on the rise they better hurry up!
Of course, most of the general public isn't even aware HPV has been linked to oral cancer. I can tell you I have 2 boys, and they will get the vaccine when it becomes available, and I will spread the word.
Liz