Good morning everyone. Just an update after my hubby's appointment with the Head and Neck Surgical Team at OHSU. As far as staging, they said he is stage IV. He had his PET scan yesterday and we are still waiting on those results. So, if the scan shows no other involvement, their recommendation is to start radiation for 7 weeks, 3 rounds of cisplatin, have a follow up PET three months post treatment, and then surgery if needed at that time. The plan seemed backwards to me, as I thought surgery was always the first step, but the surgeon said that the outcomes are very close to the same whether you start with radiation or surgery. He said that surgery adds the complications of infection (and other things that I don't remember) and delays starting radiation. My husband is going to the dentist this afternoon to get his teeth checked before radiation can start.

Has anyone else started with radiation instead of surgery? Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

Jennifer