Tom, it sounds like you got it early, which is wonderful. About saliva, IMRT radiation will do the best job of sparing your parotid glands. If you get conventional XRT, the drug amifostine, given before each treatment as an injection to the abdomen (yeah, I know that makes you cringe, me too, but people here have done it), has some success in protecting those glands. The best bet to do that, however, is IMRT. You will want to inquire of your doctors what exactly is planned for you. Welcome to this forum. I arrived here at about the same point you are now, and the information and encouragement I received here was priceless, and enabled me to get through treatment fully informed. Ask anything at all, and it is a sure thing that someone here will have had experience and can answer. Those of us on the other end of treatment are anxious to help.