Hi, Thank you for the information on your journey. I understand and wondered about taking a biopsy and another
one being different. What would you have done differently. SAID NO to radiation? Said NO to removing the 2nd gland
removed. I would think twice about targeted radiation.

Hello Elizabeth.
Before answering your questions of today, I started to tell you about dental issues in my 2nd post to you yesterday.
I got as far as telling you about the limited mouth opening and forgot to finished.
The dentist I had back in the 70's actually took an interest in helping patient's like me with limited mouth openings, TMJ problems.
He has since passed but he started a dental firm and as years went on he had several associates.
I say this as I have been seeing one of the associates since he passed.
But the original dentist worked with dental tool companies to help design dental instruments that could be used on people with limited mouth opening issues.
I have managed to keep my own teeth all these years as I do regular checkup.
Since 2012, I have been on 3 to 4 month cleanings and check ups.
It is VERY important to keep good dental health when going through radiation therapy for head and neck cancer patients
My radiation oncologists wanted me to have all my teeth removed in 2012 before starting the therapy, as she thought the 2nd round of radiation in the same area was going to cause a lot of dental problems.
My dentist, after knowing me all these years, did not agree with this decision and told her why.
She was satisfied with his reasoning but that is also why I am on this 3 to 4 month schedule.
Now there is a problem developing in the left jaw bone, but an oral surgeon is currently monitoring every 3 to 4 months.
An it has just flared up again.and I may have to go through hyper-baric oxygen treatments again.
That decision well made made April 11.
I am on a 5 week stay in Michigan due to surgery I just had last week. I can explain that in another post to you as it is also related to all this radiation.
Like you, I have so many things going on simultaneously in the same area.

Now to answer your question about radiation and if I would have done things differently with the surgery and radiation..
I presume you mean in 2012 journey.
In 1973 I was so young and didn't know any better and just did what the doctors told me to.
It was a different time and things were done much differently.
And it was like you were alone in this world an no one wanted to be around you.

One thing I would have probably done differently was to get a different ENT doctor.
But by the time I figured that out it was to late.
There are many reason for that and that's another story if you want to hear.
But it's very much like you changing doctors now.
Things did work out good in the end as far as the surgery he did to remove the 2nd parotid.
I say this as the tumor was growing in to the facial nerve and it was removed before it grew to much more into the nerve.
That would have even made the surgery more complicated and more of the facial nerve would have been taken causing more problems. The nerve grafts have small percentage of working .

Radiation today is so much different from back in the 70's.
It was a low energy radiation and it did more damage to other organs surrounding the intended target.
The whole area got the same amount of radiation and that included the out shut from the pinpoint of the target.
If that makes sense to you.
So knowing this my oncologist of 2012 was very concerned about the issues of doing radiation twice in the same area.
So radiation today using the machine is very different today. It is a high energy and much more controlled and targeted.

I got as much information as I could, and then I had to make a decision as to how to move forward.
She is such a super person and very thorough and detailed with information.

But I had to sit down and go through all the pros and cons of moving forward and going through this again and if I would survive or would it be better not to go through radiation again.
It was new to everyone having a patient going through this again and there were a lot of unknowns.

My decision was to go through with the radiation again.

One can always sit down after going through anything and nit pick the "what ifs".
I try not to do this as I made the decision and I have to live with it now and move forward.
I'm 5 years out now on the this 3rd journey.
At the beginning I told the radiation oncologist if she gave me another forty years that would be great, and by then no body would care anyway.

I am not sure if I answered your question.

GOD BLESS.

Tim