I can't believe how lucky I am to finally get in contact with others who have gone through reconstructive jaw surgery. On February 7th I celebrated my 8th anniversary of being cancer free. Unfortunately I went ahead and had follow up radiation therapy even though my surgeon at the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale didn't think it was necessary. Unfortunately the treatment resulted in radioneucrosis of the lower right jaw. I have little or no pain but have had a subcrutaneous fistula draining from under my chin . I cover it with a small piece of guaze which collects the drainage. My teeth are not loose, in fact none of my doctors can believe how stable they are considering the amount of deterioration there is of the bone. I have been told by Dr. Hayden at Mayo that it is not a matter of IF the bone will break, it's a matter of WHEN. Like I said that was eight years ago. I did take twenty-one dives but that didn't have any impact. I'm feeling a little pressure now because my only daughter is getting married in September and I dread the fact that I might miss my chance of being father of the bride! So I'm considering going ahead with the surgery in hopes of being back to normal by then, yet some of the accounts I've read today make me think otherwise. Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated. Please don't hesitate to contact me through my email address which is Thanks in advance, Tom