Hi. Sorry about the lesion. I had a scc in the same place. Mine was slightly smaller and supposedly superficial. It did metastasize, but only a short time after I had the lesion removed. After spending time with one ENT who I am sure was on the right track, but I just did not click with her I guess, I ended up at MD Anderson in Houston. That was a good move for me.

You will have to wait to find out if any of your lymph nodes have cancer cells before you can plan too much either way about a neck dissection. None of the treatment is a picnic, but it sounds like yours is definitely treatable in some fashion. The doctors where I was treated told me, "yes it is curable but only now, and if you do it the right way," or words to that effect. It is really important that you go the extra mile to make sure they/you know as much as is possible to know about your cancer. Having a lesion on the oral tongue can be tricky as they spread easily, and yes they can go to either side of the neck, but if yours is really as small as you say, it probably (not for sure) will not be on both sides now.

The opinions I had at first said it was not necessary for a dissection. I guess I would wonder (in hindsight) about doctors making definite statements about needing or not needing neck dissections without knowing about the lymph nodes and the extent of the lesion. Not to nag, but make sure you know the lymph nodes are clear (fine needle biopsy is not fool proof either as they can miss cells) and the lesion is truly superficial. Especially for the sake of your dear baby. I am a brand new grandmother of a two week old and so can well imagine how you feel. There have been other new mothers who found they had cancer on their tongue, so you are not alone.

Yes, any decision you make will probably have to wait until you have further information. Yours probably will not be HPV if it is ventral tongue near the front of your mouth.
Best,
Anne