Hi Pat,

Welcome to the site and it's nice to see such a positive attitude!
I just wanted to gently correct a comment you made in your post concerning IMRT being the "best" radiation there is. That leads newcomers to believe that any other type of radiation is not as good, and I want to avoid that. I had XRT radiation and I eat, drink, swallow..........all of it. Not quite as good as before the radiation, but my life is still just as active, etc. I didn't have to give up anything because of the radiation and I have adjusted to any long term side effects. So, with that said............I'm THRILLED that you are able to have IMRT and I hope we soon see the day when that type can be used on ALL oral cancer patients. But, until that day, we need to make sure that any new patients looking for information on radiation know that XRT is just as effective as IMRT in killing the cancer cells........which is our main goal!
Take care,
Minnie

SCC Left Mandible. Jaw replaced with bone from leg. Neck disection, 37 radiation treatments. Recurrence 8-28-07, stage 2, tongue. One third of tongue removed 10-4-07. 5-23-08 chemo started for tumor behind swallowing passage, Our good friend and much loved OCF member Minnie has been lost to the disease (RIP 10-29-08). We will all miss her greatly.