Mary, Im very sorry to read about your friend! Hope she will join our family and get the extra support it sounds like she needs.

I think you should write down all your questions and have a very long discussion with your doctors. No 2 patients are ever exactly the same. Even if you have 2 people who are the same age, from the same area, same sex, tumor location, size of tumor, cancer type and stage you still have 2 individuals who will respond in their own unique manner to surgeries, recovery, medications, etc. What isnt factored in is each persons medical history, family history, DNA, etc. Its just not possible for any of us here to know why your surgery didnt remove the "cancer pathway". We can do our best to answer questions but we dont have years of medical school, clinical practice, the complete family history, medical records, or the patient right in front of us. Even if we had the complete family history, medical records and the patient we arent medically trained to know what to do with all that info. Paul has done a very good job of explaining things, its a much better job than I could have done. But in the end its still not the same as if your own doctor explained it all. Plus when questioning a previous surgery, the surgeon and qualifications of every person that supported him and cared for you during your hospital stay get thrown into the mix making complicated answers something we simply are not qualified to give. I also suggest since you have many questions and are unsure of several things before you do anything get the second opinion (or third) at a CCC that is not affiliated with any doctor you have already encountered. The confusion over the second ENTs recommended neck dissection well after your surgery needs to be better understood prior to you starting any further treatments. Dont be afraid to ask questions... the doctors work for you and should want you to know everything thats going on and why its necessary. Taking a friend or relative along to take notes or just for moral support can also be a big help. You can ask the doc if they mind you recording your Q&A so you can go back later and replay it if you forget something.

When I was going for my big surgery in 2009, I met with my doctor several times before the surgery. When it got close to the date I still had many unanswered questions. I knew the odds of beating OC for a 3rd time in 3 years were very slim and I had serious doubts if I would survive. I scheduled another appointment with my doc to get more info and have all my questions answered. That was one of the very best doctors appointments Ive ever had. My doc cleared his busy schedule, had me come in as his last patient of the day and he never once even glanced at his watch. He made certain I was comfortable and understood everything I questioned. That appointment was well over an hour my doctor explained everything in great detail and made certain I understood everything. I think an appointment like that would help you tremendously. Once you better understand everything Im sure you will feel much better about your upcoming treatments. Just knowing why is a huge help, at least I always found it to be very beneficial.

Good luck!!!