Mrs. G.,

Yes, everyone is different. I was originally told I would have chemo and rads (my PET was positive for nodes on both sides). After the surgery (mine was 14 hours), and the pathology came back with clear nodes, and clear margins, I was given an option of radiation, as I was right in the middle of whether they would recommend or not. I chose not (after much agonizing), and am being watched closely for any signs of recurrence.

I expect much will depend on the surgery outcome, but make as many appointments as you need to feel comfortable with the process.

I'm an information hog, so before my surgery I researched everything (that's how I found this forum), so make a list of issues/concerns and go through them one by one with the docs, and take notes. Keep one page for each issue. I, being the anal retentive person that I am, wrote my questions in red, the answers in blue and highlighted the follow-up questions (all with dates and who said what). That way I could keep everything straight, and could go back and re-read. I actually had a binder with tabs for each doc, and each appointment had it's own page in chronological order. Yep, I'm a control freak, but I felt very prepared for each step.

This way, you can keep the info, and your hubby can just sit and listen.

Good luck!