Hi Denise,

Don said it best. Remember when seeing other posts, they may not be the same type cancer as yours, which sounds like oral cancer, and may be oropharyngeal like tonsil or base of tongue, which is treated differently than oral cancer, usually with chemoradiation initially with or without surgery such as a neck dissection. Even within this group, HPV related is somewhat treated differently now in clinical trials than tobacco/alcohol related oropharynx cancer, even oral cancer within the oral cavity is divided into different groups, have different risks.

Oral cancer is often treated with surgery alone, and based on other factors, such as tumor location, size of tumor, tumor depth, tumor thickness, number of nodes involved, location of positive nodes, and other negative prognostic factors, like ECE, Extracapsular Extension, PNI, Perineural Invasion, may indicate the need for radiation or chemoradiation, even with a neck dissection you're having.

Good luck with surgery, pathology, and keep the fighting spirit.