I might add to my earlier post that I went to a comprehensive cancer center and had a superb team. I am almost 5 years cancer free today and still see the original members of my team for regular followups.

Just for the record it was my head & neck surgeon who recommended against having surgery, that my mortality rate would actually be improved with RT/ct only. I also had a concurrence of the other team members.

Chiming in with Brian, a CCC is the only way to go with OC and I credit them with not only saving my life but also giving me a decent quality of life as well.

It is a fact that we have seen many die here because they sought out local treatment (mainly for personal "convenience") from well meaning but inexperienced (even "trusted") care providers. This is an insidius, aggressive disease and requires that every measure possible be taken to combat it. It grants very few pardons for Tx or Dx mistakes.

There are no guarantees in life however. My sister went to MD Anderson and still died from lung cancer (chain smoking right through the terminal phase of her illness). However that had nothing to do with the quality of care at MD Anderson.