RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy may kill more tumor cells and allow doctors to preserve the part of the body where the cancer started. It is not yet known which regimen of cisplatin and fluorouracil combined with radiation therapy is more effective in treating resectable cancer of the hypopharynx or larynx.