It's so scary. The radiation oncologist said if she were in his shoes she would definitely do the radiation, but maybe not the chemo. She said it was a soft recommendation he have chemo because he had no lymph nodes positive and a close margin, but it was a clear margin. She said just the radiation would give him about an 80% chance of it not returning, and with chemo, too, his chances would be a tiny bit better. This, of course, made him rethink the chemo altogether. He asked me what I thought he should do. I don't know what to do! I said I think I would probably get both, to give him the best possible chance, but chemo is scary stuff. If he doesn't REALLY need it, should we put his body through that?

What is magic mouthwash?

He has not been to the dentist. They said he could wait for a dental clearance, but he's already behind schedule for treatment and they dont really want him to wait any longer. He doesn't have any teeth in his lower jaw on that side, the treatment area, and only two teeth on the top on that side. All of his other teeth are in decent shape. The radiation oncologist said he should see the dentist after treatment.

They made his mask today with a bite block in his mouth and said that should help keep the radiation from really dosing his upper jaw.

He is still having trouble opening his mouth really far, and he is going to keep doing his yawning exercises, but that's got me worried too. She said radiation can cause the muscles to get worse.