Hello everyone,

I recently got a finalized recommendation form the doctors at Anderson. After considering my case very carefully, they did NOT recommend radiation for me.

Basically, every single doctor I spoke to (including Dr. Jeffrey Myers) argued that a tiny speck of malignant cells in one sentinel lymph node (less than .1 mm) simply does not warrrant radiation. I was also told that there's not much data on patients with micrometastasis on one sentinel node like mine. This is because the techniques to even find any micrometastasis is no more than a year old. In other words, up until last year, they would never have found any malignant cells in my lymph node. There IS, however, plenty of data on patients with one ENLARGED lymph node. And among patients with one ENLARGED lymph node who NEVER underwent radiation, the five year survival rate is 85 percent. Taking this into account, they told me that any chance of recurrence for my case is highly unlikely.

Another thing that makes them confident about their recommendation is that I had a "mapping" of my lymph nodes before surgery. Basically, they injected my tongue with some sort of nuclear dye which mapped out how my lymph nodes "drained." This basically enhanced their confidence that any traces of cancer were removed and that I should be ok. Furthermore, I was told that getting radiation once would prevent me from getting it again in the very unlikely event of a recurrence. So, by all accounts, they were pretty adamant about avoiding radiation.

One of the doctors even mentioned that Anderson is considered among the most aggressive cancer centers in the country. Therefore, if they don't recommend radiation, I can be sure that I don't need it.

At this point, I've personally spoken to eight doctors in two different CCC's, and these doctors have consulted with other doctors about my case. All seem to think that radiation is unnecessary for my particular case. So, I'm happy to report that I will simply close this dark chapter in my life, hope for a healthy future, and resume my normal life.

I wish everyone all the best.

Gino