Don�t push him too hard. Cancer doesn�t ask permission; it just barges into your life. Your husband probably wants to have some sense of control. At the very least, go to the appointment with him. Be prepared to ask about the treatment plan in detail. Will they follow the NCCN treatment guidelines? How many oral cancer patients they see each year? Ask the doctors their opinion about Mayo. (Run away fast if they do not support a second opinion.) This may be enough to get your husband to agree to go to Mayo for at the very least a second opinion.

I know I�ll be attacked here for saying this, but going to a regional cancer center is not a death sentence. Unless your husband were to get into a clinical trial, he will get the same standard chemo radiation treatment at Mayo as listed in the NCCN guidelines. You have a long, hard road ahead of you. I wish you the best of luck.

Susan