You really should have HPV testing before you commit to anything. All head and neck cancer is not best treated exactly in the same way. Some kinds need surgery first, some need radiation & chemo only. Regarding lymph nodes, they won't remove all his lymph nodes in his neck. Some of us--you can tell from our signatures how many lymph nodes we had removed, a bunch, but that is not all of them. Most of us who had neck dissections had it on one side only. Please do not jump into this without checking another doctor's opinion. I have no vested interest in whether or not you do or do not have surgery done where you are, or have radiation/chemo done there, or anything. I'm just not sure you realize all the possibilities that are out there. Mostly these tumors do not grow that rapidly--I'm not clear as to how this information was obtained.
All the more reason to be with a center that deals with a lot of oral cancer.

Also--understand surgeons like to perform surgery, radiation oncologists prefer radiation, your MO, I would want to know their reasoning as well. Not trying to pressure you, but be careful. Your MO may be exactly right. But whatever you decide you will not be able to redo, so check it all out.

Best,
Anne