False positives with a PET are relatively common, and all positives from a PET should be verified with a biopsy. My own person protocols for follow up involve an annual MRI of my complete head and neck, and a spiral CT scan of my lungs. Every 4 months I have an oral and throat exam that is visual and incorporates manual palpation of the nodes. Of course I still look around in my mouth with a flashlight at least once a month....

My logic is this. We pretty much know the routes of metastasis for oral cancer, and the overwhelming majority of the time it is going to go to the aerodigestive tract. That's where I'm looking. The ones that leap to something different than this, like the kidneys etc. are few, but do occasionally happen. There is an overkill issue at work here. I want to do enough, but I don't want to be obsessive about it either. There is also the issue of how much and how often an insurance carrier will pay the bill. Of course that looking around in my mouth with the flashlight could be considered obsessive, but if it is my power to see it and catch something early, I want to.