I constantly talk myself out of posting, because I don't want our path to affect any others, but maybe I'm wrong.

Dennis was diagnosed in 2002 with stage III tonsillar cancer. He endured rad and chemo then, but, because he wanted to preserve his voice, we opted out of surgery. His line of work relied on his voice.

He had a PEG tube at that time, but refused to use it. By God's good grace, he achieved remission (only after losing 40 lbs).............for four years.

One month shy of his "so-called" five year mark...he was diagnosed with worse news.

I remeber the radiation oncologist talking to me during his first diagnosis. She told me upfront that this was her only chance of curing him. This was it. He had to quit drinking, and smoking. I'll never forget her wiping tears away when she saw our youngest son playing in the halls.

She didn't lie. He didn't quit drinking (not for two years), and never quit smoking. (More heavily, if you ask me)

You have one chance to beat this cancer. Take every advantage given to you. This is not the time to think you are invincible. Yeah Dennis did,....now he has no tongue, no voicebox, and we are fighting the insurance just to get him food.

Please, take advantage of every source available. If the insurance doesn't approve one method of treatment, and you want to persue it, call back in a couple of days. In my experience, even though you think you have exhausted all avenues, it isn't necessarily so. You wouldn't believe the issues I've faced just getting Dennis his Jevity.

Take a stand. Don't be intimidated by the so-called "doctors". This is your life,......fight them for all it's worth.

Take every avenue available, and God Bless.

Love,
Mandi