Thanks Cindy and Barb.

Today I saw the oral surgeon and went back to teh dentist and also ended up getting in to see my ENT a little early (was supposed to have an appt. next week). The oral surgeon seems like a very nice and knowledgable guy who also spoke highly of my ENT and the dentist. I didn't realize this but he said my ENT had done extra training in ear nose and throat surgical oncology at one of the top places for ENT training in that.

I never really asked the ENT his qualifications because I saw him right after I got the biopsy results and I was just reeling still.

But it explains why he (the ENT)insisted (and was right to insist accrording to the folks at Dana Farber where I got a second opinion) that I needed radiation, though, even when the one rad oncologist at the local hospital (who has since left--was not the one who ended up treating me) said he didn't think I did need it.

Anyway, I'm now kind of glad I didn't see the oral surgeon before rad, though, because he said he would have pulled three more teeth on my lower jaw just because all three of them have old fillings which means there is some possibility they could abcess in the future. But he said now that rad is done he thinks if I get the old fillings replaced with newer fillings I'll most likely be OK.

Interestingly, he said to me that the risk of radionecrosis to the jaw *doesn't* get less the further away from radiation you get and that in fact some of the worst problems can crop up 10-15 years afterwards. But that many times if a tooth needs extraction, it can be extracted with no problem, even after radiation. And also they have HBO in Syracuse, which is an hour and 15 minute drive from here but not as far off as I thought I'd have to go if I ever need it.

He doesn't think the tooth that is crooked needs to come out for any reason right now. The problem, which I confirmed with teh dentist this afternoon, is that it will be harder for him (the dentist) to make a good bridge or something to put in that gap next to it eventually. But the dentist promised he would figure out something after looking in my mouth again and realizing that it really did look too sore to even think about wearing a partial right now (as the oral surgeon said "all of your mucous membranes look very unhappy in there" )

No one thought there was anything that looked like cancer.

I did get two of the sharp teeth filed by the dentist, then my mouth started hurting too much (but I think that alone will help).

My ENT is sending me for a combined MRI and PET scan in the weeks to come. Actually the MRI is Monday, which will not quite be 3 months after the end of rad but close (within a week of that), I don't know when the PET will be yet. He warned me things would show up as hot on the PET but it would be the combined reading that counts so I should just wait until he gets the results and let him explain them to me.

I thought I'd be terrified about finding a recurrence but I'm not yet--I guess I probably will be once its all done and he has the results but I haven't heard them yet.

All in all I'm feeling better about things. All three of these guys said I just need to give things time to heal, that it isn't unusual to need this kind of time, and that I have a really good prognosis of cure (disease free after 5 years) after getting teh rad and chemo so I should feel good about that so far.