Thanks for all the encouraging posts. they help more than you can ever know.

Here's an update:

Since the PET scan that showed some indication of hypermetabolism in the (much smaller now) mass that was the primary tumor, I have seen my ENT, medical oncologist, RO, and head & neck surgeon. They all say we will watch it closely and I will come back for examination in three months. Besides that, their reactions were all different.

The medical oncologist seemed to think it was a slam dunk for the winning team and the hot spot was just inflammation from radiation effects. The head & neck surgeon seemed to agree and even said we will not be scheduling a microdissection of the two lymph nodes that are now showing zero evidence of hypermetabolism. I pressed him about whether he is troubled by the elevated update levels of the primary mass and his response was "Troubled? No - I am not troubled by it." He went on to explain about how much lower it was than the original PET scan and how this indicates the tumor is diminishing. The ENT said it was "not all bad news" because the lymph nodes are no longer involved. The RO seemed encouraged but was much more cautious and would not declare any kind of victory at all.

So - it seems like the results should be considered generally good but it is too early to start thinking about using the word "cured." They all agreed that there is much less risk than before. They all agreed that watchful diligence is the order of the day for the next year in particular and for several years after that.

Tomorrow will bring whatever it brings. I feel a lot easier in my mind than I did when I got the initial results of the scan.