David

Thanks. You have spelled out the plan. I just did not expect so much graphic detail about splitting the jaw open, swinging it out and the attendant nerve and tissue damage. Plus what hurts worse is that soon I will no longer be part of the "Final Five" cylons (since we can count on one hand OCF posters who had radiation chemo with no PEG) as with a temp trach tube, I will need a PEG even after discharge from the hospital. Just spending 10 days in there sounds so daunting. Never thought that my aches and pains and problems right now would be transformed into aspriration goals for recovery. I do intend to get my two biopsies sampled for HPV and will be starting a separate thread on that seeking info on getting these to Gillian at John Hopkins as I am now inclined to think mine is NOT HPV. If so, it would butress the research on HPV being more susceptible to rad and chemo than "other".