A followup to Brian's comments and a clarification.

As a Stage III patient, Brian really had no choice (well, he DID, but ...) but to undergo neck dissection and radiation. My ENT says tumor board meetings are generally quiet when dealing with Stage I or III cases: the treatment recommendations are pretty clearcut, and board members tend to agree most of the time. But discussions of Stage II cases can completely unravel them, and heated exchanges are common. Stage II is a gray area, and there are legitimate arguments coming from all sides.

I want to be clear that in my previous comments I was, in no way, implying that we all have choices about treatment. This is not "Brian picks chocolate and Mark picks butter pecan at Baskin Robbins." If you are diagnosed at Stage I or even Stage II, you may be fortunate enough to get by with a relatively simple surgery and close followup ("watchful waiting"). But if you're at Stage III or IV, forget it -- watchful waiting is not an option. Brian, like many others on this board, didn't have the luxury of "choosing" anything -- his only "choice" was life itself. For the most part, it's those of us with Stage II disease (and occasionally, Stage I), who are sometimes presented with these conflicting, and often contradictory choices.