Thank you Tammy and Paul. Maybe you don't have meetings with the patients present in the US. In NZ we are placed on a raised platform in the front of the room while numerous medicos come and have a look at our mouths and throats. Surgeons feel the tumour, the dentist looks at the teeth, other people come up and ask politely if they can have a peep. There's some sort of screen with a camera attached I think so everyone can see the tumour, but I'm not sure, it's hard to notice details while your life is in their hands. After this scrutiny, we wait for many hours while the docs discuss all the cases they've seen that morning and then call us in to tell us what decisions have been made.

I'd be interested to know if people in other parts of the world do indeed appear in front of the panel.