Hi, I just found out yesterday that the doctor is fairly certain my Dad has cancer on his tongue, although a biopsy still has to be done. It looks as though it has spread to the lymph nodes due to a lump on his neck. The doctors say it is "advanced", and he will require readiation and chemo, although I'm not sure abobut surgery. I also found out that my Dad has had this lump for quite some time and other symptons - coughing, difficulty swallowing. He is 63 years old and scared, as we all are.

Hi Scott,
Welcome to the forum. Many of us were advanced stage before it was detected. Keep us in the loop, go with him to the doctor visits and take very thorough notes.

I have a friend that had a 6 lb. rectal tumor! How do you not notice that?!?!? Stranger things have happened - just try to move forward from this point. We are here to help in any way we can.

Scottp,

Welcome to this site -- I'm sorry you needed to look for it, but glad you found it early in your father's path down this road. There is a wealth of information beyond the OCF forum itself -- if you go to the homepage and scan through the various subjects you can find there, you'll see what I mean.

When you get more detail about biopsy results, you may well have more questions. Feel free to post here with any concerns you have and you'll probably hear from people who have been through it before. If your father hasn't yet been to a major cancer center, I would urge him to be seen by a head and neck cancer team at one of them (you can find a list under Other Resources if you go through the homepage here). This disease is best dealt with by doctors who treat it on a regular basis.

Cathy

Thanks, my Mom had breast cancer about 15 years ago, today she is doing fine. I was able to be strong for her, but I'm taking this so hard. I know he needs me to be strong, but this hit me out of the clear blue.

Scottp,
Ditto to what everyone else said. My father was diagnosed in January and just finished treatments last month. It isn't easy but you can survive it.
Massillon, football country,I am only a couple of hours south of you. I don't know if Cleveland has a CCC but we have one here in Columbus and I would encourage you to at least try to get your Dad to obtain a second opinion here in Columbus.
My father lives in a different state and I wasn't successful in getting him to come here. Good luck and keep posting. You will find a wealth of information on this website. Your Dad will be ok, my Dad had the lump on his neck for several months before mentioning it to any of us. He decided since it continued to get larger to finally mention it to his family physician during a routine visit. Thank goodness he did.
God bless you and your family
Kim

Scottp,
I know what you mean about hitting you out of the clear blue. My Dad diagnosis did the same to me. I still find myself even now after all the surgery, chemo and radition are over being shocked that my Dad has cancer. Also I think this particular cancer is so unknown to the general population and the unknown is scary. I sure hadn't ever heard anything about it. You will be amazed when the tough times really get tough. You will find yourself finding strength that you didn't think you had.
Take care
Kim

Kim,

I would like to talk more about this with you. I sent you an email.

Scott