Re: Brian saying it was strange that I was operated on before I've been staged. Yes, that's true. I never got a second opinion, either... which I see now is frowned on around here. I am insured through my employer, with an HMO, and frankly I can't afford to be going out of network with my insurance. Or move. I expect you all will say I can't afford not to, it's my life, etc... but a life in financial ruin, and then take everybody down with me if I go? Plus I had wildly inaccurate expectations of what I was about to go through, at the time. Between the doctor initially telling me I had 70-80% chances of making it to five years, and a misconception that I had that after five years your odds of staying in remission go dramatically up and up and up until you reach normal lifespan... instead of the fact that it continues to plunge at the same rate. So I felt overconfident, is what I'm saying. I live in St. Cloud, MN. There is a cancer center here, where I will be receiving treatment. Centracare Health System's Coborn Cancer Center. http://www.centracare.com/specialty_centers/cancer/

But anyway I had a 4x1 cm visible tumor on the side of my tongue, and PET scan showed positive for 3 lymph nodes in my neck. They were operable and obviously they should have been removed, right? I wouldn't have been happy with them not being taken out since they were already advanced enough to be obvious and the consequences of losing the tissue in question are virtually nil. I lost a barely noticeable amount of tongue, to clear margins. Today my only complaint is some numbness and minor reduction of mobility in the tongue that gets better every day.