I'd like to know more about ORN. My husband has refused surgery for his stage 4 ORN,that developed after radiation for oral cancer (floor of mouth). He had 30 HBO dives which allowed the progression but did not heal it. Three years later he is pulling pieces of bone out of the fistula and is in more pain than his current Norco 10 can cover. How does untreated, unresolved ORN progress? I spoke with a respite care nurse awhile back, and she gave me a brief rundown on what may happen, but i dont kniw how acvurate it is.Is there a pain med that is effective? Does ORN increase the risk of recurrent malignancy? He is 13 years out of radiation and presumably cancer free.