Oh Frank, I know exactly how you feel. I was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor under my tongue last May. An oral surgeon removed it easily enough, but the margins weren't clear in the pathology report. So I was told I needed a partial glossectomy and no one would know how much tongue they would have to take until they were in the operating room. They would cut until they got clear margins. I thought that was nerve wracking enough but I awoke with less of my tongue gone than I had had nightmares about and was told they "got it all".

About a month later I had a bump on my neck that we all hoped was just a swollen lymph node that would need antibiotics. But to be safe I was given a biopsy and lo and behold the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. I, like you, started reading and must have read the same things you did that basically gave us a death sentence for cancer spread to lymph nodes. I went so far as to consider doing no treatment if I was a "goner" anyways. Thank goodness for this site where I got so much encouragement to go forward and not give up. There are people here that have gone through so much more than I have that I feel like a cry baby now just thinking about giving up. I finished my chemo and radiation January 22nd, 2010, with the help of everyone here.

I don't post much, just read about all the people I admire so much here. I don't post because I just have no knowledge about oral cancer except the two surgeries I had and the radiation and chemo. My family was supportive but they really didn't understand what I was dealing with and continually compared me to my sister who had breast cancer and had a mastectomy and is cancer free. She had no radiation or chemo. They just didn't even grasp "the mask" until I brought it home in January. It was the people here that gave me the support I needed and understood. So please ignore the grim statistics that say how poor the survival rate is and listen to the real people here who are proof we can survive.