Hi Margaret,

I know that Amy M. already briefly answered your question about the MD Anderson trial you have read about here, but since I am sitting here at MDA waiting (and waiting and waiting) and am in Month 3 of the trial, thought I'd give more details.

The trial is commmonly known as the "EPOC" trial. It is looking at whether erlotinib, AKA Tarceva, can prevent oral cancer in people at high risk of getting this or a recurrence. It is a fairly unique trial in that to be eligible, your tumor or suspect tissue is examed at the chromosome level to see if you have specific markers that indicate a "loss of heterozygosity" indicating that you are at high risk of recurrence. (around 65%) The link to the trail detail is here
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00402779;
jsessionid=2D530CC77B917071F1004E0C4A8BF51A?order=1 (Cut and paste this link into your browser)

I am also an RN so was very interested to read your post about your experiences,although I feel very fortunate that I did not have to have either chemo or rad so can't really answer your specific questions but know others have.

As far what we can do individually, I know that I make a point to educate people wherever I go about oral cancer, if they are willing to listen. Just last week I was in my dentist's office and spoke to not only my dentist at length but also both of the dental techs. While people like Brian Hill are working very hard on National Awareness and Advocacy issues, I guess I'm just trying to at least do this from my little corner of the world, which I think many others are also doing.

Best of luck to you, Margaret, and glad that you are posting now.