Back home from the second surgery, the radical neck dissection on the right side this time, compared to the left side and partial tongue glossectomy the first time. Still have the staples in, and this clear plastic dressing that's gonna hurt like heck when they pull that off on Tuesday to remove the staples. Still have decent range of motion on right arm, but shoulder and neck muscles seem much more stiff and sore. Either way, I look more gruesome than I feel.

But then I have to remember this is only 6 days post surgery, and I wasn't even released from the hospital until 7 days post surgery last time.

Do have a question. This time my jaw on the right side seems stiff, I can open my mouth pretty wide but get some pain in what I think is the muscle ahead of the point where the lower jaw joins the skull. I know there's a technical term for this place, but you know what I mean. Read the "jaw pain" thread, seemed most folks had problems after radiation. This is only after surgery. Been practicing opening my mouth wide, just in case.

Head back next Tues to get the staples out, new RT mask made, then start RT (twice a day for 5 weeks) and Chemo (once a week for 5 weeks.)

I had been lucky so far, still had a good amount of saliva thanks to the IMRT, and the fact I still had pretty much all the salivary glands on the right side of my face intact. But, surgery removed the gland beneath my jaw this time, and while they are going to try to shield the gland that's remaining, I suspect after this round I'll be in dry mouth land big time. Another member of this board who lives in this part of the world and I have had private discussions, we think they just don't "do" PEG tubes here for some reason.

I hoping this is the last round of this nonsense, and the cancer beaten back after this. In the meantime, doc's are going to start looking for a possible second hidden primary, since they aren't sure why, after the first surgery that left "clean margins" and the radiotherapy on the left side, there's a recurrence on the right side.

I was pretty positive after the first surgery, nervous but positive after the first go around on the RT and Chemo. This time, I'm haveing a harder time keeping positive. I'm pretty sure that I won't have the same amount of problems with the RT, not doing the tongue and only 5 weeks worth, last time I didn't get real bad until week 6, and that was because of the pain on the tongue. Chemo didn't bother me too bad, I tolerated that well last time.

I'm just not thoroughly convinced that this is the last I've heard of this. Doc's aren't saying anything, excpept there was only one node fully involved, one partially involved out of 25 taken out, and the cancer cells were fully encapsulated in the nodes infected. No strays.

I've been cautously optimistic, things like purchasing an apartment, but only taking out a 5 year note, getting married, but making sure all the insurance, wills are updated. My company has been very supportive thus far, but of the last 9 months I'll have only been working 4 of them, counting the next month and a half I'll be off for RT. Might get work done part time, Monday morning, Friday afternoon and maybe Saturday morning. In my case the treatment is in a whole different country, much less town.

I know this post is pretty disjointed, didn't mean to start out this way, but just needed to vent.

Anyway, thanks for listining. Need all the encouragement for this next battle I can get.
Bob