Puerto Rican males have been ranked among the top five groups in the world suffering from oral cancer. Since the typical victim is an elderly male, from the Puerto Rican rural and lower socioeconomic areas, who is chronically unemployed or underemployed, lives alone, and is a heavy drinker or smoker, social support network creation was considered a viable intervention. A social support intervention strategy was developed which involved four phases: (1) identification of high and low risk friends of a patient and existing support sources; (2) contact between the community link and potential cases; (3) diagnosis and treatment, with the patient being accompanied by the community link; and (4) follow-up and final evaluation. A pilot study was conducted with 21 potential patients to evaluate the effectiveness of the first three phases. The study concluded that community support systems could facilitate identification and follow-up of persons with oral cancer and could identify social support networks operating in communities. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention, the proposal was not supported by federal authorities. Possible explanations for this lack of support are considered. (NB)