John Paul, welcome to the site. Sorry you had to find us, but hopefully we can help. As an update to my previous post on this thread from September 21, the strength in my right shoulder is slowly returning. I stopped physical therapy due to expired insurance coverage for therapy of this type. I am begining to have some nerve pain in my shoulder and neck, but I welcome it as I think it is the nerves trying to reconnect. This may be a little wishful thinking, but with my strength coming back, a positive outlook may help the situation.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I would always recommend the radical neck dissection, if for no other reason than to insure I had done all that I could to make sure no recurrance happened. But that is a decision you will have to make. My doctor spent an extra hour in the surgery to remove all necessary tissues to insure clean margins as well as the lymph nodes after chemo/rad. He avoided the nerves as much as possible and I think he was especially careful as I had explained my concerns of loosing my right arm usage. So I think that expressing your concerns is a good thing and will motivate the doctor to take extra care during surgery. Not that the doctor would have been careless, but an extra level of concern may help the outcome. Good luck with making your decision. Will pray for guidance and a good outcome for you.