Hi all, I have been (mostly) a lurker here since my husband was diagnosed with SCC BOT Stage 1. He finished radiation a year ago on Dec. 27 is fully recovered and doing great. He is 57, was a heavy smoker for 20+ years, quit about 10 years ago. He got super lucky (relatively speaking of course) and started having pain in his neck. He had 2 CTs and an MRI which came back negative and the dr. did not see anything with the scope. After about a year of pain he got a PET/CT which caught it.

I am 30 (big age difference, I know) never smoked, occasional social drinker. Last March, I started having pain on the side of my tongue. I thought it was really weird but wanted it to go away as it made me nervous after meeting people during my husband's treatment,etc. Of course, when I told my husband he made me go immediately to the ENT. It turned out there was a "spot" there but nothing too scary looking. She did a biopsy and it came back negative. But, here I am nine months later and I still have the pain. I can feel it in my ear, sometimes in my jaw and sometimes it seems in my chest). I have been back to the dr. and she ordered an MRI which was normal. She has debated doing a PET CT (or trying to get insurance to go for it) I am going back Jan 24. Should push for the PET CT or just continue to go to her every couple of months for visual checks?

You need to listen to your docs on this one and get a 2nd opinion if you need to. There are some great dentists on this site so maybe they will speak up (that's a hint Jerry).