gary,

thanks for clarification and info re radiation. this has been a mystery for me because i did not get to read her radiation treatment summary or talk to the new radiation oncologist after he looked at my sister's radiation films. i had assumed that the reason they could irradiate again was because in actuality she had only gotten 20-some out of the 35 sessions she was scheduled for. there were several cancellations because of equipment problems but they had not made up for these. so i thought she had not hit the maximum dose because of that.

also a clarification: my sister's recurrence is in two spots: a new tumor in the throat area where she had not received radiation and new growth in the surgery bed in the face and upper pallete. we were told that while radiation could help with the new tumor, it probably would not do much for the previously irradiated areas. they don't have a radiation plan yet. i'll post it when i find out.

be well.

gita