Monday November 28,2011

The cancer that Grandpa has is called Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma. The tissue that was removed from the vicinity of his ear was 7 cm by 5 cm by 4 cm. In addition to the parotid gland, testing showed one of 4 lymph nodes was cancerous. All the tissue surrounding the gland showed no cancer, so it is hoped that all the cancer has been removed. However, to increase the chances of success, the doctors recommend radiation to kill any cancer cells that may have escaped. The question of chemotherapy has arisen and some doctors believe that the chemo will increase the chances of success, but this is not clear. There is not sufficient data on this rare form of cancer to indicate one way or the other. There are negative side effects that can occur which make the idea of using chemo somewhat risky. Grandma and Grandpa need to decided what to do about the chemotherapy before Wednesday (November 30) at 9 AM when they meet with the radiation oncologist to verify the alignment in the radiation machine and to establish the schedule for the 33 radiation treatments that Grandpa will get. Treatment will start Thursday, December 1.