@loiswhitfield Lois, the side effects of radiation are not good. Like many of us on this blog we know. If I could've safely got away with not having radiation I would've. I hope your decision is the right one. Good luck.

@loiswhitfield Hello and welcome to the Head and Neck group.
I agree with @harleytiger that the side effects from radiation are not good, but ….
We question the need for radiation therapy for stage one SSC but stage four doesn’t seem like it will just go away on its own. Since it isn’t a rapid growth cancer, waiting for an MRI next month or a PET scan should show something. If it shows nothing, then another scan down the road likely should be done. And then if something is visible, don’t say no to radiation.
Now, about radiation. Since I am not a doctor I can advise differently. Whilst the doctors have their standard radiation protocol where more is better, we do see successful outcome in patients who stop radiation when it becomes too difficult for them, usually at the four to five week mark. No guarantees but some treatment is better than none.
For me I had seven weeks of it, screaming and kicking during the last week or so. Lots of aftermath to deal with over the years. But twenty-five years out and I haven’t made acquaintance with the Old Man yet.
I certainly wouldn’t tell an oncologist that I will do the radiation for a few weeks. I would start and later say that is enough. But that is me. I hope you think again when you get your test results next month. Radiation, as bad as it is, is far better than the alternative.

@loiswhitfield When I was 71 yrs old I had 9 chemo and 33 radiation treatments. i'm now 78 and on Keytruda. My MRI's show no growth in my skull cancer. The radiation caused damage to my pituitary gland, but I am taking hydrocortisone and testosterone to solve the problems.
I'm still alive and don't know but believe. the radiation either killed my cancer or prevented it from growing. Your decision was a tough one. I wish you the best. Hopefully your MRI will show positive results. Thanks for sharing.

@loiswhitfield I went through radiation for HNC 20 years ago and am here to talk about it. My sister went through radiation 4 years ago, but the HNC returned. She tried the immunotherapy but did not survive the outcome. There is so much we don't know about cancer. Everyone is forced to endure the consequences of a healthcare system that doesn't always have adequate treatments available. Good luck with your decision. I hope it works out for you.