Mike, when I was getting rad, the techs told me about two other head and neck patients who smoked out in the garage until time for their rad. Techs were complaining that they were wasting treatment time on these guys. If there were two at that one hospital, there must be hundreds of thousands more who are what is termed "non-compliant." How you would get this information, though, I cannot imagine. I only learned about those two guys because the techs and I got to be quite friendly.

There are intangibles, also. For example, I was absolutely sure that I would survive and live to be a he**-on-wheels old lady. Just last Friday my ENT recalled my telling him that going in, and said he believes people like me have a better chance of overall successful treatment.

Long ago, in a distant galaxy, I was a math major and intrigued by statistics and probability. I still am, but see no way to collect accurate data about all of this. More power to you, Mike, if you can do it.

Bottom line, if you can manage to stay on the green side of the grass, I don't think the odds you might have beaten to get there are as important as the fact that you are still here.