My husband had the initial 70 grays of radiation which is the lifetime maximum for the area that was irradiated. Since then he has had two more rounds of radiation, 20 grays each round, on some swollen nodes. So, it depends. Although as our RO told us, there will come a point when John cannot have more radiation without damage to the spine.

My husband has also had Cisplatin, Taxol and Carboplatin, Capcitabine and two clinical trials. So, I think, again it depends, your husband may be able to have some chemo -- maybe not for curative purposes but to keep him stable.

If you are going to a teaching hospital, maybe what you will be asked to consider is whether your husband will participate in clinical trials?

We have decided that we will take this a day at a time. That is the only way to deal with a recurrent cancer.