It is unlikely that the radiation would have caused any additional cancer. Very high doses of radiation CAN cause cancer, but it takes about ten years to occur after the treatment application of radiation, (72 plus grays of radiation at least).

It is likely that if you had gone to a CCC at the first occurrence, she would have had radiation and chemo right from the get go, with surgery afterwards when the tumor is de-bulked or reduced in size by the other treatments. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network, which is a group of the biggest NCI designated cancer centers in the US, publishes every 6 months to a year, the updated best working treatment protocols they are using. The purpose of this is so that smaller institutions who have less experience, see fewer patients etc. can benefit from what the big guys have found to work the best for different stages of oral and other types of cancers. Currently these are considered the standards of care for treatment. You can view the current recommendations on the OCF web site in the treatment section.