Well,I felt like I needed to get a second opinion on whether or not to pull my two molars in that area. So, I called the original oral surgeon I had seen when my tumor was discovered/diagnosed. He said he would not recommend that those teeth be removed, that they were healthy and that my gums were healthy as well. I think this has left me feeling even more confused as to what to do.

I also asked him about the pathology report on the tumor. The original pathology report from my biopsy diagnosed the tumor as a low to intermediate grade adenocarcinoma of the salivary gland with mucoid epidermal like features. The military labs (all slides and info were sent to another military lab on the east coast for confirmation) diagnosed it as low to intermediate grade mucoid epidermal carcinoma of the salivary gland..... I asked the ent about this and he said pathologists could argue for hours about which type it is. He said the important factor is as to what stage it is in. It was slightly over 2 cm but the nerve tissue within the tumor graded it as a T2NOMO. The original oral surgeon questioned from the beginning as to whether or not the lingual nerve was involved or not, Ive asked the ent as to whether or not that was removed. He said the pathology reports would tell us. Im assuming it was, although I dont know for sure. The oral surgeon asked if my tongue was numb on that side of my mouth and I told him it was , he said that they probably removed that nerve then. It doesnt surprise me , Im just wondering why the ent didnt explain this to me.

As far as the general anesthesia goes, I requested to be *out* for the extractions because I have limited mobility with my jaw. The muscle is very tight on my right side since they removed some of my parotid muscle to the jaw...(what opens and closes your jaw). I wish I knew without a doubt as to what to do. Im uneasy removing healthy teeth, at the same time, I do believe in listening to your doctor's when they recommend things. Im pretty comfortable with going with the radiation rather than not doing it and just watching things. I wasn't happy about the recommendation, but I was leaning towards doing it no matter what for the possible extra insurance to keep the cancer away. But, like Ive said, I dont know what the right answer is to pulling my teeth as preventive medicine.