Hi Elizabeth -
I echo Margaret's thoughts for you (a couple posts back). But I do want to share with you my husband's experience(s). I rarely read in here about jawbone "shaving" which is what he had done at Shands in Gainesville several years ago. I hope I remember his treatment correctly (as he has had 4 small OCCs over the years). He had a small cancer on his gum so they removed 2 teeth at that time (he lost a third tooth with a later surgery) and shaved the jawbone, none of which showed any bone invasion. He also had a neck dissection in 2002 because there were 2 suspicious nodes circled on his xrays but there was no cancer, in any of the nodes removed. Because all his cancers were so small, clean, and well diffentiated, they decided against rads and chemo each time. He is doing well today, but retains some numbness on his ear lobe and neck from the dissection. But he didn't have the problems that Eric had with his. He has more trouble eating with the missing teeth than with the remnants of the ND surgery.
Just another voice heard from. Best of treatment to you. JaneP