Hi Aimee,

Nice to meet you. I was 59 when diagnosed with Stage I scc on the lateral border of my tongue. Clear margins and no lymph node involvement. No trach needed. The surgeon, radiation oncologist and I decided that I would not have radiation or chemo. I have just passed the one year mark with a clear chest x-ray. I was back treating patients in 3 and a half weeks. With physical and speech therapy I can say that I am back to 100% function.

What I have learned from this experience and from being a member of this forum for over a year, is that there is no standard of care for treatment of oral cancer or for follow-up care. There are about a dozen people here that I'm aware of, that have not had radiation and/or chemo. The other thing is that most of us don't ever stop thinking about cancer. We just think of it a little less as time goes on. By being a member of this board, we are committed to helping others and by being here, we've chosen to keep this disease in front of us all the time.

If you care to "talk", please feel free to email me (or others) privately and include your phone number. Everyone here is available for you.

Good luck with your CT scan and please let us know how you make out.

Jerry