We have just gotten the fantastic news that my husband will not require radiation or chemo post-surgery and that he will be coming home from the hospital just shy of two weeks after surgery. Margins were good. No positive lymph nodes. No functional defects except some numbness in the cheek and right lower lip. The surgeon at Sloan Kettering is confident that nothing further needs to be done except the customary monitoring for recurrence.

Just curious if this is common/uncommon or simply Chip's great good fortune. I can see from this board that many of you have experienced recurrences and that there is a risk of microscopic invasion notwithstanding clear margins, etc. It therefore surprised me that radiation and chemo were not routinely suggested even with great surgical results (not that we want them - not at all). I suppose it all depends on the individual circumstances, but I am interested in your views and experiences.

We do plan to ask the surgeon to explain Chip's good fortune, the basis for his recommendations and the prognosis when Chip has his first post-surgical appointment and when the surgeon is not in scrubs, trailing a bevy of fellows. Meanwhile, it's time to celebrate, which Chip plans to do today with a milkshake.

Karen