Ray,

I had a tumor of the left tonsil, 30 lymph nodes, and a very small section of my tongue removed during surgery on 9/13/2002. 2 of the nodes came back + and all margins were clear. It went well but I guess it still all adds up to stage IV. The surgery is or, depending on when you read this, was being followed-up by 7 weeks of radiattion treatment to clean the area up. At this writing I have 3 more treatments, only 2 left at the end of this day!!!!!!Upon initial diagnosis it was believed that the cancer was confined to the tonsil and I could choose the radiation or radical tonsillectomy route. I was not given the option on the lymph node issue. Some MD's thought I had an enlarged node and some did not, but I was getting some form of neck dissection no matter what treatment I chose for the primary tumor. Once it was "felt" in the tongue my options were reduced to the above described treatment. I tend to "lurk around" in forums and there are many people here more knowledgeable than I, but I thought the node removal was the standard. Yours seems kind of large so maybe they expect to shrink it with the chemo/radiation treatments so they will be easier to remove, or just plain wipe out the cancer cells. In any event, as everyone here has stated the radiation is the hard part. Best of luck and one thing I know for sure is that those 3 children, and a bottle of water at all times, will provide all the motivation you need to fight the battle! People tell me to keep a positive out look, I tell them I have a 13 year old daughter and a wonderful wife to be! End of story.

Glenn

PS: Karenng, you wrote, "The most difficult time is two or three months after completing treatment". I expect a long recovery but I had heard weeks, not months for the most difficult time. Was that the case for you?