Carboplatin/Taxol

My mother was recently diagnosed with stage IIIB squamous cell carcinoma.  We have received two opinions so far, both being that the standard form of treatment for this would be 2 rounds of chemo followed by concurrent radiation and chemo treatments for 7 weeks.  Having said all that, can anyone who has gone through similar treatment give me some idea as to what to expect during the upcoming treatments?  Also, any long-term survivors out there?  It would be nice to hear some encouraging news for a change...