Thank you so much for phrasing everything as honestly as you did. I'm just starting out with the possibility of radiation. I have a non-aggressive cancer in my salivary gland. I had surgery and was then asked to speak with the radiation oncologist. I knew nothing going into this. The rad. oncologist pretty much told me nothing and I walked out of there knowing that they would make me a "special cap" and that I should see the dentist. Radiation would be the usual 5days/6 wks. I was told nothing more and asked to notify him of my decision. When I emailed back and said that I thought I needed to wait until I felt stronger from my surgery, I was then given the SOP you mentioned. No, it needs to start in eight weeks etc. Then when I saw the nurse in the ENT's office, she asked me who I had to help me. Help for what? She said I may need someone to drive me for the treatments. I'm 74 y/o, worked hard raising my family and never had help. So every day since that day, I have researched radiation and salivary gland cancer online. This forum has been very helpful. I never knew about any of the possible side effects, nor how long they can possibly last. I might be reading too much into everything, but I really feel people should be educated about what's possible. I wish you the best of luck.