Hi Catherine...not sure if my two cents will account for anyting but I have had a fight with cancer as well it was on the bottom of my mouth and I had overf 50 lymph nodes removed all clear...my doctors have concluded they got all the cancer and I am clear without having radiation. I really am not sure if it is good or bad or normal I am just trusting his experience and skill..I am just going one day at a time with this still and only one month out of my surgery. So good luck with your treatment and be confident they will get all of it during surgery