Hello all. My husband was recently diagnosed with Squamous Cell, base of tongue primary and affecting right neck lymph node (they didn't share the stage with us and he didn't think to ask). They claim no surgery is needed, he will go through 35 radiation treatments and a few Cisplatin treatments. I have several questions, as our advice from the doctors was simply "Just do what we tell you to do from this point on." This doesn't set well with me, as we would rather be informed as to what is going on. My first question to you all is, they ASSUME it is HPV related, but no definite, therefore they say it is highly treatable. Is there a test they can do to be certain it is HPV related without surgery? Also, he's concerned about hearing loss as he is already a little deaf from an eardrum rebuild they did when he was a kid so he chose to get smaller doses of the Cisplatin over time instead of 3 large doses. There were no other suggestions for medications/chemo. This is all happening really fast and they're just taking the bull by the horns without telling us if he has a choice and what they may be. He's a musician, so I'm assuming the radiation will take quite a toll on his singing voice/ability to sing. It would be a shame if the cisplatin caused other things that would compromise his quality of life. Thank you for any help you can offer.

Jeanne