Lee,

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this, but it sounds as though you're on the right track in terms of getting to a major cancer center and also exploring second opinions. Being proactive and aggressive about tackling this disease is a really good idea -- too often it has a second chance to come back because it wasn't hit hard enough on the first go-around.

At a cancer center, you should be getting the input of various doctors within different branches of oncology who can give you their reasons for any future treatment recommendations. If you find yourself facing radiation as a followup to your surgery, you can find plenty of support here from people who have been through it (both with and without chemo). Radiation can be tough on the system -- the effects can sneak up on you and suddenly leave you with eating and swallowing problems, making nutrition very difficult, but there should be resources at your hospital (and there certainly are here as well), to help you if it comes to that.

Also, if you are in need of any dental work and are likely to have radiation, it's best to try to deal with the dental work first. (Although if any doctors try to convince you to have a lot of teeth pulled as a preventive measure before radiation, definitely get another opinion.)

Feel free to come back as often as you have questions or want to update us on how you're doing.

Cathy