Bill,

I assume that the Tx alternatives you were told are unacceptable since you didn't go into any details. I want to mention 2 Tx protocals that you may not of heard of that may warrant you looking into.

First one....I am not a doc but I have read a recent article on a new emerging Tx involving protons that can deliver it's strike more precisely and with more potency and cause less adverse side effects than IMRT. It's called IMPT or Intensity Modulated Proton Therepy. It's only being used at 5 U.S. locations and one of those is Mass General Hospital in Boston. The article was about MD Anderson which is also one of the 5. Basically the IMPT is designed to penetrate the skin with minimal damage to non targeted cells and once it reaches it's tumor, the proton is programed to conform to the tumor and deliver it's full impact. The article said it's not suitable for all cancers but they did mention Head and Neck cancers as one of the types of cancers that they have used it on. Go to MD Anderson's web site for additional info.

Second one...A few months ago a poster discussed that he was only receiving a cocktail of chemos and NO radiation and it was his first occurrance of SCC. I haven't seen any further posts from him but if his docs were willing to treat him with just chemo to kill his cancer it might be useful to you.

Hope this info may be helpful.

David

Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.