Having just been diagnosed with SCC of the tongue in Feb, 2004,I am glad I found this site. So many questions, so little time to ask the right sources. I had a biopsy of a white bump on underside of my tongue was told 1 week later "Sorry it is Cancer." The next week I was relayed to a head & neck surgeon who scoped me & pronounced me otherwise cancer free and said "See you March 2 for surgery." Between this time & my surgery I had nicotine overdose from the patch (yes I quit immediately after 24 years of smoking 10-20 daily!) loss of balance(related to ear pain perhaps?)and generally felt unwell enough to visit a hospital where I received CT scan, chest X-rays and fantastic care from informative Doctors who then also pronounced me "otherwise cancer free." One Dr. was concerned enough with swollen lymph nodes on my right side of neck to put this in her reports which were going to my H & N Surgeon & advised me to ask him about these & possibly remove during Partial glossectomy surgery. My H & N surgeon said "You are allowed to be paranoid, but I am not going to remove the swollen lymph nodes." My partial glossectomy was successful but I still dont know what Stage I am (or was), or what well defined SCC means, or why I still have swollen nodules on right side of my neck after course of antibiotics post my March 2nd surgery, my next visit isnt scheduled until June & I am uncomfortable with my ignorance as the bump started back in late 2002, early 2003 without diagnosis until Feb 2004..any suggestions? Some of your comments seem most inspiring I will post my pics later. Thanks

Hello Maran, and welcome!

I am not a doctor but to me you need a second (or third) opinion. While your doctor might be right, it is your life on the line here. A biopsy of at least some of those enlarged nodes would be cheap insurance. Too many people visiting here have been treated incompletely the first time around.

You didn't mention the experience level of your doctor, or if you were treated at a large comprehensive cancer center. Getting a second opinion is important not paranoid.

Take care and keep us posted.

P.S. If you need to educate your doctor more about paranoia, tell him/her you know someone who would have been treated 5 months sooner if the doctor wasn't inclined to blow a lump in the neck off. That would be ME! Tell her/him all about the paranoid thoughts my 3 sons had about loosing their father to cancer. Which, since my Life insurance agent still laughs at me when I call to UP my coverage, is still a possibility. For that matter give him/her this web site so I can tell the story directly.

Oh yes, doc's can get in denial big time too. Both the ENT and the Oncologist were in denial about the swollen node on my neck that showed up opposite side, about 2 months after end of radiation on first side. Finally, second monthly follow up in and saw a different head and neck guy, he suggested follow up PET/CT, actually about a month and a half early. Node shows up as "hot" on the CT, and the normal ENT and Oncologist still in denial, give me antibiotics and re-do the test a month later. STILL shows up hot, so they do the needle biopsy. Shows up positive, the rest is history.

It's no big deal to have an ultrasound guided needle biopsy, in the right hands with an experienced doc it can be good at finding out what's going on. There is a chance that they miss the cancerous cells with the needle, but cancer on the tongue, and a lump on the neck is awful suspicious to me.

Otherwise, I have to agree with Mark, get a third opinion, these two guys really don't know anything more definate than you do at this point, without a pathology report of some sort.

Good luck.
Bob

Absolutely get another opinion. The most likely place for the cancer to spread is your neck, or so I'm told by my surgeon. Sono-needle guided biopsy stings a bit, but to get any reassurance would be worth the pain.

Keep us posted.
Lynn

I am so scared. All of you are so brave. I have a small red circular(looks like blood filled) growth on the left side of my tongue. I have had it for a couple of months. The Hygenist wanted the Dentist to look at it but she was on vacation. The MD looked at it today and said it's probably nothing but I should have a bioposy. I am very scared. Any advice?

Hi Crystal, try not to be scared (easier said than done) but definitely get the biopsy. I don't know if this will help but my tumor was on the side of my tongue and I had a white spot rather than red. Get the biopsy and go from there, Good Luck and God Bless You, Carol

It's not cancer until the pathology report says so. Try not to worry!!!

Crystal,
Stop fooling with unqualified doctors or dentists and get a referal to a ENT or a head & neck surgeon (preferably ones with cancer treatment experience). Many of us wasted precious time with misdiagnosis. Diseases of the head and neck are a specialty.

Thank-you all so much! I have an appointment tomorrow. It will be comforting to hear it may be nothing, but I want to be assured it's nothing. I guess an ENT is the only way to go!!

Congratulations! You made the appointment, Crystal. I know how hard that was. Remember, it isn't cancer til pathology says it is then it is just one day at a time.