Michael,
I just visited UCLA and I loved it! Very up to date facility, extremely professional staff and warmth all over the place. The "waiting room" in the oncology area was huge and furnished as darling conversation areas with stuffed couches and end tables. Every Dr. had a support staff that came out and greeted you personally before taking you back. I watched others coming back while sitting in my room and each was accompanied by a positive, very personal nurse who was very aware of the person's status. I had a nurse take all of my records back before the appointment. Then met with an assistant Dr. who'd obviously read them extensively in the 1/2 hour wait. He knew my medical history from 1970! The big man himself, an expert in head/neck oncology, then came in and discussed every detail of the disease with me. And answered every silly question we asked over and over again. No sense of hurry. The place is awesome and worth a visit. When involved in support groups and even at USC medical ,people would tell me of UCLA success stories. I can see why. These guys are state of the art.
You sound so good for only 7 days. I still had all my feeding tubes then and couldn't talk yet. You are healing wonderfully. I know I had perineural in 1993 and it's never advanced in the brain nerves beyond what it was then. I didn't have positive margins in '93 and so they did rads. I had 21 nodes removed and a few were malignant. 2 new malignant ones have just shown up in the opposite side of my neck so it's creeping. But ACC is relentless. The Lung tumors are there and multiplying. But they can't do anything about any of them. The Dr. said to go enjoy life, have wine and dance and not worry. I'm looking to house swap with someone in Italy.
Hugs and strength. You are doing better then you know.

Ali Mae