Hi Rodger,
No scan can show microscopic cancer cells that are floating around until they find a spot and grow a tumor large enough to be picked up. That's why combined therapy using radiation with the surgery is recommended. Chemo is added if there is mets and lymph node involvement. It's what we don't know about that will kill us.

Scans are a great tool, but don't bet your life on them, they're only one part of the complex monitoring and diagnostic process. My husband had surgery, radiation and chemo and all of it had side effects - but he is alive, recovering, and has the peace of mind knowing he did everything possible to beat this. Yes there were parts of it there were miserable, but so thinking you're okay and having a recurrence because you were undertreated. I would be asking myself how I would feel if it came back and I hadn't done what they recommended?

It's also hard to predict how you personally will do with the radiation on a day to day basis as there is a lot of variation in the severity and scope of everything you will experience. Side effects didn't kick in for Jack for the first 3 weeks, his pain was managable with a fentanyl patch, and lidocaine gel helped a lot - as did the PEG tube to maintain his nutrition/hydration when his swallowing was affected. I would get a detailed explanation from the team that is making the recommendations on expected side effects but please realize that your experience may be very different. Not everyone has had a horrific experience but you won't know until you're in it.

The key to getting through any treatment is to maintain excellent communication with your medical team. Let them know how you are feeling, and whether whatever they've recommended to address it is actually working. They can't address issues they don't know about. There are medications, rinses, gels etc that are geared to helping you get through radiation. Jack had a problem with the mask so he also used ativan to get through treatments.

By the way, Jack had good results from his surgery too - and it was the surgeon who explained the limitations of what that actually means and why a combined treatment plan works best. Radiation was always going to happen, the only decision was the timing of what would come first and whether chemo would be added.

Cancer free is situational based on what they can see in a particular area at a particular point in time. It's an encouraging piece of news for you but not the whole story.

Good luck in your decision. No one can force you to have any treatment, it's absolutely your right to refuse it - just make sure that you really understand the consequences of your choices either way.
Regards JoAnne