Hi Eli.........My cancer was on the base of my tongue and floor of my mouth--the tumor was fairly large as you can imagine. I also had one cancerous lymph node and they thought possibly more at the time of surgery. Luckily it turned out to be only one.

As for RAD and chemo---raditaion was not an option for me--- that was a given--- after I had healed from the surgery. However, I did not have to have Chemotherapy, that was given to me as an option, but my Radiation Oncologist strongly recommended I do both treatments. I knew going in that the Doctors were not sure how much good the chemo would actually do, but I figured that if I had any chance of surviving this cancer it was in my best interest to do anything and everything possible to fight this disease.

I don't know why your sister was not offered chemo as an option other than to say that perhaps your Doctor didn't think it was necessary at the time. Five years ago surgery and RAD were the standard treatments for tongue cancer with chemo as an option. I think that has changed somewhat during the last five years because it seems more and more folks are having chemo along with the RAD. Brian, does this ring true with you? Eli, I am so sorry to hear of your sisters recurrence of tongue cancer. I know this is a difficult time for all of you. Your sister may become sicker before she gets better, but she will heal, and she will get better. Keep us posted on her progress. And remember, we're here to offer support any way we can. Good luck! SIncerely, Donna

It is really difficult to talk specifics about one person's treatment. Each cancer and each individual is so unique that there are only generalities that we can say about appropriate treatments. So in general, chemo is usually reserved for those with more advanced stages of oral cancer where the risk of a distant metastasis is more likely. Hence a "systemic" treatment like chemotherapy, that is not isolated to the mouth. This cancer reoccurs at an extremely high rate. That rate does not appear to be tied to, or affected, by which different treatment modality was used. I too was offered a round of chemo after radiation and surgery, but I was just too physically and mentally beat up at that point in time, and I chose not to have a "wash" of chemo to possibly pick up a micro metastasis at a distant site, that might grow and prosper over the course of a few years. At 4 years out now, it still remains to be seen if that was the right choice. There is a higher percentage of recurrences in the first five years than later, though they still happen to people many more years out. There is no guarantee that if she had chemo, that she would not have had this recurrence. It happens to people regardless of the treatment protocols, including those that have had chemo.

Donna, Brian, thanks for responding. We won't know for a few weeks if she is responding to the Cisplatin and 5-Fu. I have heard from others that their tumors did shrink considerably from chemo and another person on this board told me about Photodynamic/Foscan therapy for tumors and this sounds like a promising procedure for tumor treatment also. I appreciate your kind words and insight. It's one day at a time for all of us. Some better than others. I am optomistic that she will pull through this. Praying doesn't hurt either. She has a great attitiude about it and is very positive.