Chiming in with Brian, without the MRI's (or CT in some cases -or both for that matter) and PET scans and other diagnostic information how could they properly stage your cancer? Without accurate staging information it's impossible to develop an adequate treatment plan.

The CCC I went to would NOT start treatment without them. Additionally they insisted on TSH, hep C test and a battery of blood chemistry tests, not to mention examination by a dental oncologist. They took videos and stills with a scope. All of the pieces had to be in place - no exceptions.

The chest x-ray they gave you, especially the first one is a "baseline" - they don't expect to see cancer in that one - it's for comparison purposes for future scans to see if metastesis (or other changes) to the lungs is happening over time.

Obviously they followed SOME of the NCCN recommended "practice guidelines" (standards for detection and treatment for cancer).

We're not trying scare you but recurrence can be a very ugly thing indeed and ANYTHING that can done to prevent that is critical.

This is why we recommend over and over to seek out a comprehensive cancer center for diagnosis and treatment.

And Brian 1 in 4 is worse than Russian Roulette - there are 6 cylinders in a revolver - that's a 1 in 6 chance!