T IS A GREAT HONOR TO HAVE BEEN invited to give the Hayes Martin Lecture at this, the 6th International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer. I am particularly grateful to Dr Jonas Johnson, president of the American Head and Neck Society, for this invitation. It is my plan to address the issue of involvement of the parotid gland and cervical lymph nodes by metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck. In doing so, I hope I can speak to you on behalf of my many colleagues in Australia and New Zealand because this disease, although it is not unique to the Australasian region, occurs with such frequency in Australia and New Zealand that one may be forgiven for thinking that this form of cancer is geographically unique. Before presenting data on this issue, I would like first to mention my own relationship with the great Hayes Martin and to address some themes from some outstanding literary figures that are relevant to today's discussion.