H,

I would like to weigh in again on your situation.

First of all acupuncture and herbals don't cure cancer!

As far as radiation and chemo, I can only tell you what was my experience. This in no way means that this is what should be done, only that again I will say there are many ways to treat this issue. This is not to confuse you, but to give you insight into what you "might" be told.

My surgeon is the chief of head and neck surgery at a ccc. I went to him after having had a biopsy in my office and having an MRI which was ordered by my oral surgeon. The results of both were brought to him. He said to me that his protocol is to remove the lymph nodes on the side of the tumor, without even seeing an MRI. His reasoning is that MRI's can have false negatives and the only way to know is through biopsy. I went with this as to me, there was no argument against this reasoning. I was also seen by a radiation oncologist, who agreed with the treatment plan and added that if the nodes were negative, he did not recommend radiation.

There are many members here that will disagree with this protocol and most base this upon their own experinces. What it comes down to is that you have to get as much information as possible, including other opinions and do what you and your mom feel most comfortable with and feel is the right thing for her.

Everyone second guesses their decision I'm sure and I am no exception to this. Well, if I die of old age or some other illness, I made the right choice. If I get a recurrence, then I guess I didn't. However, who is to say you can't get a recurrence after radiation and chemo?

This is tough road to follow and we are all human and are unfortunately faced with life threatening decisions.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Jerry