Amy,

I'm sorry you had to experience this at such an early age, but I'm glad you found this site. You don't mention whether you've been seen at a comprehensive cancer center -- if you haven't, I would urge you to go to one as soon as possible for a second opinion.

There are several parts of your story that sound very familiar to me: delayed detection because of misdiagnosis by several doctors, size and location of tumor, type of surgery, findings in pathology report, etc. Even though my surgical team felt they had good margins, the head and neck cancer team at my hospital pushed strongly for radiation, partly because of the potentially aggressive nature of this disease. While that extra treatment was really tough at the time, I've never had reason to regret having had it.

Please feel free to come back as often as you need to with any questions. There are plenty of people here who can identify with what you're going through and will try to help.

Cathy