From what the surgen told me, he has removed the tumor completely. He says research shows that life expectancy of people who have gone through radiation is much higher then people who haven't. Does anyone know anything about this?

The people that have the best long term results have multidisciplinary treatments. Of course this is dependent on the staging of your disease and where it is located. Radiation wouldn't be used often in a very early find of a carcinoma in situ on the mobile tongue for instance, but would be used on a later stage cancer. But you haven't said anything about your staging or your cancer's location. I would also be concerned with the risk factors that brought the person to the disease and if that was tobacco and if the risk factor was still engaged in. There are many things that determine whether or not someone needs radiation in addition to a surgical removal of the immediate lesion.

stage 1, the tumor used to be on the base of his tongue. he was drinking heavily and smoking about 2 packs aday, but since the surgery he hasn drink nor smoked.