Again, no one can predict your odds accurately either way. As I have said on the board before, I am not a proponent of single solution treatments for oral cancer unless they are extremely early stage one cancers. The chance of an undetected micro met in the surrounding tissues is just too high. Take the consult, hear the perspective, weigh the choices. Radiation has long term consequences, which with the use of IMRT are greatly reduced. But it is accumulative during your lifetime, and it is not a pleasant thing to go through, though again, IMRT patients have an easier go of things than those that get field radiation. Surgery may get all the CURRENTLY detectable cells and have clean margins but miss something like a micro met that will come back and bite you later. Larry Sharp comes to mind, read his journal in the patient stories section of the people part of the web site. Carcinomas in situ do the best with single treatment plans, older cancers do better with combination therapy...statistically. And you know what I think of statistics. They don't necessarily apply to you. Now, are you confused and uncertain enough? Of course you are confused and uncertain...who expects these kinds of decisions in their lives, and with no hard rules, what are you to do? It is a completely normal reaction. You will have to go with your gut feeling about what you have been told, what you are willing to go through, your confidence in your doctors, and the doctor's recommendations. There are no absolutes or guarantees in cancer treatment. Once you decide, don