Sallyanne

As usual my post is somewhat contrarian. A skilled doctor can indeed detect oral cancer tumors by touch and feel. I had just gotten an all clear from a PETscan in October 2008 when one month later my ENT felt "something worrisome" in my mouth from pressing on the tissue during her exam. She was right, the cancer was back. Now all my doctors decided not to order any Petscans for me, just MRIs/CT combos.
With PNI, radiation is almost a necessity to avoid recurrence IMO (based solely on what my doctors all said about PNI). I was told that the most aggressive treatment would be to a combo of radiation and chemo, which I opted for after the recurrence even though I had had the "maximum" radiation and 8 weekly chemo the first time around.
You are almost to the finish line here.
Keep the Faith
Charm