My husband John also is thinking about filing a lawsuit against our previous HMO and the doctor at the time, for not catching this disease in it's early stage. Of course John is also interested in joining a class action suit against the government since he believes his oral cancer is due to Agent Orange exposure in Viet Nam, along with his diabetes which is service connected as well. I don't feel optimistic about winning a claim against the government since the dangers of smoking were just coming into light then, and even so - try to prove that his cancer is a result of his time there would be almost impossible. I do feel strongly though that our previous doctor who is affiliated with our former HMO is to blame for neglecting his symptoms and denying him further tests that could have caught this disease at a much earlier stage. I feel they should be held accountable for this "mistake" and my husband is looking into this matter with a fiend of ours who is an Attorney to see what we can do about this. I think the only way to really bring oral cancer into the limelight is to send a message to the doctors and the medical profession (and anyone else who will listen) that the symptoms of this disease can often be dismissed as something minor, but patients have a right to have further tests done and doctors should do all they can to check for this often hidden cancer.