[wireman]

I had a tumor of the parotid (salivary) gland in 1992. A needle biopsy was inconclusive, and I was immediately scheduled for surgery at U.Va. Medical Center. My parotid gland and the tumor were removed. There was some facial nerve damage (the nerves run right through the middle of the gland) and I will have modest facial pain and paralysis for the rest of my life. Still, not a bad outcome.

There are a lot of jumbled and somewhat conflicting accounts about Tony Gwynn's medical history, but as nearly as I can make out, he also had a parotid tumor as early as the '90s, which was determined to be benign. Apparently, not much was done.

Then, in 2010 or so, it came up malignant. Surgery was performed, but only part of the tumor was removed. The thinking was that, rather than risk the facial nerve, they would mop up the rest of it with chemotherapy and radiation. Didn't work.

The next surgery, in 2012, involved taking out the rest of the malignancy and facial nerve. Then they transplanted a nerve from his shoulder/neck. By this point, they feared further metastasis, and I think they removed some lymph gland too. But apparently it was too late to stop further spreading.

Everything that was done with Gwynn was medically defensible, but, well, I'm glad I went to U.Va.

BTW, I'm not a tobacco user. Gwynn always thought his tobacco use caused the tumor, and maybe it did, but it would be pretty much impossible to prove.

Gwynn was a great gentleman and the finest "singles hitter" of the last 75 years. His death at such an early age is a crying shame.