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@mojo244

Hello and sorry about your situation.
In the words of my senior oncologist, I had way too much cancer for any surgery and I needed to be hit as hard as I could with old school chemo and radiation because he had one chance to kill it or my prognosis would not be good.
With all that said I can only attest for radiation along with chemo.
One thing for certain is that you need a complete oral examination from an oral surgeon. Any teeth that are within the radiation impact area that may be at risk(crowns, filled, decay etc) must be extracted and 21 days of healing prior to any radiation. After radiation treatment you will need Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments for 30 days prior to a tooth extraction or filling and 30 days after…. I had my wisdom teeth and 3 molars extracted prior to radiation!
As far as radiation, everyone can respond differently so it’s hard to say how it will affect you. All we can say is what it did to us.
As for me, chronic migraine 24/7, tight neck, tight jaw, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing food and sometimes liquid, cough, hearing loss and tinnitus (most likely from Cisplatin), speech impairment, fluoride treatments/prescription toothpaste and more.

Wishing you the best,
MOJO

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Replies to "Hello and sorry about your situation. In the words of my senior oncologist, I had way..."

Thank you for your kind and thorough reply. Sounds as if you've gone through very difficult treatment; I'm sorry for that and hope you are on the other side of most of it. I am not having chemo and my radiation oncologist tells me that my mouth isn't implicated in the upcoming treaatment. But I've asked for triple confirmation of this as I've no wish to suffer any further gum or mouth side effects (mine are mild, but as a result of two rounds of radioacive iodine treatment) at this stage of my life. Wishing you a smooth journey. P