As Brian said, of course communication is the key. If a patient is concerned with ANY effect of ANY treatment, it should be communicated and discussed.

I would like to express other considerations though that must be taken into account when deciding on treatments. As I've stated before, my husband had lung cancer and was treated twice with cisplatin. Yes, cisplatin is more toxic than carboplatin and CAN have more severe side effects - but we wanted to be as aggressive as possible to give my husband the longest chance of survival. He experienced some hearing loss (which was greatly reduced by having the built-up wax in his ears flushed - a common side effect from radiation to the head)and also some decrease in vision but I am convinced the use of cisplatin is what gave him an extended amount of time over the average lung cancer patient - he had 21 months vs. 12 months.

I am now in the same situation with my mother who is 71. In addition to squamous cell head and neck cancer, she has a lung nodule. A bronchoscopy failed to get the cancer cells so it is still unknown what kind of cancer cells are in her lung. Regardless, since cisplatin is used for both head and neck and lung cancer, I am adamant about her receiving cisplatin vs. carboplatin. She is not willing to undergo numerous treatment plans so I feel she should be given the best shot at the cancer the first time around.

My experience has been that when it comes to treating cancer, there are many trade-offs. And many of the decisions that are made are affected by our personal beliefs. In our case, I think some hearing loss is manageable to aggresively treat the cancer. But she isn't going to have to go through the surgery that so many of you have endured and conquered.

Just wanted to added another spin to this subject.

Cynthia