I talked to the radiation/proton doc today & it turns out they wish they had imrt capability. They use standard xrt radiation in combination with proton therapy. So, I'm stuck with a dilemma. What do I do? I know it's my decision, but which fork in the road do I take? There are pro's & con's to both roads. The proton therapy has pinpoint accuracy & eliminates at least in my case the need for surgery, however, has to be followed up w/standard xrt radiation & there goes the neighborhood, meaning the parotid glands & anything else in the way. The other option is I go through with surgery; jaw bone split down the center & the loss of both bottom front teeth, removal of right base of tongue & section of throat below that, rebuilt with left forearm tissue & artery, skin graft from left thigh to repair left arm, day after tomorrow & follow up with 6 weeks of IMRT radiation 10 weeks later & possibly still lose parotids. I'm really not complaining, just venting about the things I'm wrestling with. Any comments or suggestions? I live near Seattle & the surgery meal deal is in Seattle. The proton meal deal is in southern California & would most certainly add a whole lot of complications just due to geographics.