Kathleen I am very sorry to hear your mom's story and especially regarding the latest recurrance and her level of pain. I know there are some folks on here who know alot about pain management so I will let them answer that.

I know a little about salivary gland cancer as that is what my husband has. It is VERY RARE and within it there are several subtypes that have extremely different prognosis. All of them seem to have the same treatment protocol though. Please feel free to read my posts and to e-mail me anytime and I will share with you everything I know. I spent about 40 hours researching online and have only found about 3 people with this cancer and none who have my husband's type...

I empathize with you so much as you care for your mom. I shared the caregiving responsibilities for my mom (with my dad - I moved home) and it was heart wrenching. We too were very close and great friends and as she continued to decline it was very sad. She had breast cancer and it metastasized to her lungs and brain - she died in 1999 at 54-years-old.

I will add you and your mother to my prayer list and please contact me if you like re: the salivary gland cancer.