Michelle, I had radiation on both sides. But there was some disagreement about whether I needed that. The opinion I got from Dana Farber was that I did. My ENT here thought that I did.

But, like your mother, I was being treated at a new CCC satellite location at the hospital in my town (the CCC being Roswell Park which is 3 hours away from here and the closest CCC to here even so, so a satellite facility was sorely needed). The RO treating me, who was from Roswell Park (Much like your RO) only wanted to radiate one side of my neck. My understanding is this was a radiation plan agreed on by all the ROs at Roswell Park--that they all review the treatment plan for any radiation patient. I was confused about why they thought this would be OK when I had another expert opinion, and my local ENT, whose judgement I also trusted, saying they really needed to radaite both. So I contacted teh RO from Dana Farber again and he very *clearly* told me I needed radiation on both sides because my tumor was close enough to the midline for there to be a risk (but I also had perineural invasion and that might have been a factor too--I'm not really sure about all the reasons why he thought this, just that he was pretty sure of it). Apparently he contacted the Chief RO at Roswell Park and he talked to my RO here and all of a sudden they were agreeing to radiate both sides of the neck. What I *DIDN'T* ask, and should have, was whether my RO here hads ever done a head and neck IMRT plan although I think he definitely had--when he talked to me about what the radiation would be like he sounded like he'd seen lots of patients go through it--but maybe that was non_IMRT radaition he had seen.

I do have some regrets about not going with the original one side of the neck plan OR going elsewhere for treatment. I can barely swallow, 10 months out after radaition because the IMRT apparently caused strictures in my espophagus which I was told by a speech pathologist with expertise at treating swallowing problems caused by head and neck cancer treatments, could be prevented if the radiation oncologist "knows how to tell the IMRT to avoid the esophagus". (She made clear this doesn't happen with non-IMRT radaition, it's an effect of less than expertly done IMRT). It also took me 6 months longer than it should have to even find out I HAVE strictures because I was given a modified barium swallow locally where both the speech pathologist and the radiologist here totally missed seeing it (but it was there to see). Given all that, I would defintiely recommend your mother NOT be the first head and neck IMRT patient your RO works on. If the main center is an hour away, that is a managable distance and probably worth the trip.

Nelie