First I am sorry to hear your news. It always is worse emotionally when you think that you are out of the woods, only to be turned around again. The only alternative that I know of for this cancer in the floor of the mouth is surgery, and you do not what to go there if you do not have to. It can be extensive; much muscle is lost in the process affecting the movement of the tongue and mastication in general, and it can be disfiguring. Radiation is no walk in the park, but is the treatment of choice here. Chemo is not really effective against SCC that is in this location. This will be a tough road, but it is passable. She has shown great strength to this point; no doubt that same strength will get her through the next obstacle. There is nothing to culture in biopsy for cancer, it is not like culturing bacteria or viruses. So there is no waiting period. They look at the sample under a microscope and they determine if malignant cells are present. My biopsy results for instance came back in 3 days. There is no excuse for this taking this long and it has adversely affected her treatment choices, and possibly even her outcome. She has certainly been harmed physically by the extended delay, when this could have all been addressed at one time. I'd be curious to hear what their explanation for this is, and how they intend to defend this inaction. While there are survival issues that are the most important right now, down the road you may wish to explore compensation for this oversight.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.