Hi everone;
I thought I had made an introduction earlier but I was in my profile tonight and did not see it so a little late but here it goes.

I was diagonosed in January with base of tongue/floor of mouth Squamous Cell Cancer after sporting ear aches/and a lesion for several months and two negative biopsies. I was seeing an oral surgeon who would not give up on trying to get me better. Since the biopsies were negative he was treating me for Gland stones which he said sometimes will cause lesions. In January '06 he decided to clean the lesian and stitch it up to get me some relief. He said while he was in there he was taking a couple more deep biopsies "just for insurance". Thank God he was relentless! He had me right back in the office with "the news".
After two opinions that were almost identical I had a neck dissection in February on the right side with removal of 25% of my tongue, floor of mouth, tonsils, and right side saliva glands & lymph nodes. My ENT told me the margins were clear, one was questionable but within a comfort zone for him, and he would suggest no radiation, chemo at that point. (he doesn't seem to be a big advocate of radiation)
Everything went well enough and I recovered very good. Got back to work, was eating very well, basically back to normal.
Then, in between follow up visits I starting getting that familiar soreness and spasms in my tongue again. I went back to my ENT who was very glad I responded immediately. He scheduled me for an outpatient biopsy where he could put me out and really get a good look while taking a biopsy. The biopsy was negative but my ENT wasn't satisfied with that. (another blessing) He referred me to another ENT in the area, who is also an associate professor at our University.
My new ENT scheduled a PET/CT which revealed a new tumor on BOT, now on both sides. He suggested that we proceed with Radiation & Chemo prior to another surgery. (He said that my next surgery would be a "real one" and we should try to resolve this with Radiation and Chemo first)
So just prior to Labor Day I embarked on a journey of 35 IMRT and 3 x Cisplatin. I finished up treatment the third week of October and my doctors seem "positive" thus far with what they see. I recently cancelled a visit with my ENT because I was so sore and "burnt" that I could barely open my mouth. My RO told me there wasn't any use to see my ENT again until he could get a good look in my mouth, plus they meet weekly and discuss all patients. My RO also told me that they would not do another PET/CT until January due to the residual effects of the radiation. I've now lived so many of the things that you all share on this site and it has been great to learn about many of them prior to running up against it.

It is a pleasure to be part of this awesome group of people who have a great amount of courage and compassion to help others.