What Cathy said..in spades. My surgery left me with an incision scar that begins under my left ear, runs down my neck almost to my collarbone, across to the midline of my throat, and all the way up to, and through, my lower lip.

It is 6 months old, and if I didn't point it out to you, you'd never notice it. Even if you did, I would say thats a small price to pay for being cancer free. The radiation's visible effects are short term; the surface burns disappear after a few weeks, and seldom scar.

Shes also correct that they seldom use chemo alone; its usually used to enhance the effectiveness of radiation.

It is not mandatory that chemo be used either. I didn't have it with my radiation.

Reading through this entire topic, I can't help but wonder if the information that you and your Mom are getting is as comprehensive as it could or should be.

Please don't misunderstand; I'm not being critical, but I just don't have a strong sense that all of the options are being fully explained to you. There are few absolutes in the treatment of cancer. It just isn't the kind of disease where you're diagnosed, you have treatment A,or B, or...? and it's gone, period.

There are folks here that had truly life threatening tumors, received minimal treatment and have been cancer free ever since. Others with much smaller and less invasive cancers have undergone extensive, agressive treatment, and continue to battle the demon.

I said it before and I'll repeat myself; make sure that your Moms medical team is appropriate and informed. Your family Doctor, as good as they may be, just won't cut it here. This disease is a killer, and you need to give it the respect it deserves.

There's a lot of very good reasons why there are Doctors who specialize in treating oral cancers. Find those people and get their opinions
Wayne