Jane,

You didn't mention what stage your husband's cancer was (this can be one factor in the radiation decision). However, in light of the fact that he has had a recurrence, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss radiation just yet. You may want to seek out a second opinion. Also, if he's not at a major cancer center, this would be the time to find one to get that opinion from a team that includes radiation and chemo specialists.

It's possible for cancer cells to exist that are too small to be detected, which is one of the reasons why radiation is often recommended to help "clean up" any of the remaining stragglers. I had Stage II SCC in my tongue, and when my surgery was done they removed many lymph nodes, all of which showed no signs of cancer. Even so, my head and neck cancer team felt it was critical for me to have radiation because of the risk that some microscopic cells were left behind and couldn't be detected. I did have radiation back then and haven't had a recurrence in the past 16 years.

In the 15 months or so that I've been registered on this forum, I've read of too many instances where people refused radiation after surgery (or doctors didn't push for it when perhaps they should have), and the patients ended up with recurrences within a couple of years. I'll be the first to admit that the months I spent getting radiation and then recovering from it were the darkest times of my life, but since then I've been blessed with good health, so the worst effects of radiation were just a temporary problem and with the benefit of hindsight I'd have to say the treatment was worth it.

Please don't come to a final conclusion until you've had the input of an oncology team that can give you their collective view on the best possible course of action.

Cathy