I know the position you're in. I had a similar size and location tumor removed in Oct 2003. Good news - no lymph nodes involved. Doctor felt confident that he got all the cancer. So, the decision to proceed or not with radiation was mine. I sought 2 more opinions (including tumor boards there really were more than 3 medical voices involved). No clear cut decision.

My cancer was stage T 2-3. The concern about loss of saliva and potential other effects was there. But I went with what I felt was the more conservative approach - try killing off any remaining, microscopic cancer cells. I wanted to be around long enough for those other problems to develop.

I have 2 young kids so I want to hang around for a while. Quality of life and potential complications down the road were secondary.

My worry about radiation was that since it can really only be used once on an area was I using a weapon that maybe should be saved for later, in the event of a reccurence

will add more thoughts later, I need to go.
michelle