Watching and waiting until this reappears, could leave the patient with a disease that is more advanced when someone finally notices that it has returned, as the lymph system is a highway to the vital organs of the body. Oral cancer never kills you in your mouth. It might take 24 months for some micro met that is undetectable now to prosper into something that will be significantly harder to deal with in the future. Radiation is no walk in the park, and it does induce some life long issues. But too often here we have seen people in recurrences that could have been avoided if the initial treatments were complete/comprehensive.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.