DODGERS NOTEBOOK : BUTLER'S CANCER HASN'T SPREAD.

Dodgers center fielder Brett Butler was notified Tuesday that cancer had not spread from the original tumor and lymph node, removed in separate surgeries over the past 3-1/2 weeks, as 49 biopsied nodes were found to be benign.

Butler told a Dodgers official Tuesday that the results were ``great news,'' and that he is ``feeling a lot better.''

Butler, 38, underwent surgery May 21 at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to remove lymph nodes and a mass of muscle tissue from his neck and throat. At that time, one lymph node was diagnosed as cancerous. Tuesday's results signified a very positive step in a process that began May 3, when a routine tonsillectomy revealed a plum-sized tumor encased in Butler's right tonsil.

It is likely that Butler will begin six weeks of radiation treatment on June 10, though that will be finalized today, when Butler is to meet with Dr. William Grist. He will spend the next two weeks steeling himself for the radiation, because he has lost 11 pounds.

Butler has had half of the 36 staples on the right side of his neck and shoulder removed, though stitches in the back wall of his throat remain. Butler said he is in some pain, but he is able to talk and has begun to eat.

``I'm getting better each day,'' Butler said.

Six weeks of aggressive radiation therapy likely would end around July 19, leaving 10 weeks in the season. That might be enough time for Butler to return to the club, if he chooses.

He does: While some players took advantage of Monday's off-day to travel to Atlantic City, and others merely rested, Dodgers outfielder Milt Thompson was married. Thompson has three daughters from a previous marriage.

He said he did not wait until the offseason because ``Tomorrow's not promised.'' He cited the death last weekend of Mike Sharperson as example.

Thompson's bride will accompany him to Los Angeles after the road trip, and they will honeymoon in November.

Lighten up: Hideo Nomo has appeared vulnerable in the early innings of several of his recent starts. Scheduled to pitch today, Nomo threw lighter in the bullpen Tuesday, under the direction of pitching coach Dave Wallace, in an attempt to preserve Nomo's strength.

Because Nomo has his own regimen - he is the only Dodgers starter to throw twice between starts, a practice also followed by the Atlanta Braves - Wallace is loath to consider any dramatic changes.

Notes: The older brother of Roger Cedeno, Nollys Solarte, played briefly as an outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the late 1980s. For that reason, Cedeno wears a Pirates pendant on his necklace. . . . Eric Karros' father, George, is traveling with the club through this Eastern swing. . . . In the absence of Brett Butler, those hitting in the Dodgers' leadoff position, primarily rookie Roger Cedeno and Chad Fonville, are 14 for 89 (.157). In those 23 games, they have 12 walks.