I'd like to chime in here. I do not post that often but I am on here a few times daily keeping up on everyone. Your post concerned me.
I agree with the others. Please seek a second opinion. I was told 3 times that I had clear margins and I still had a recurrence 7 yrs. later. I am now approaching 1 year since that announcement. I did have radiation treatments even though I was told by my radiology oncologist that he did not think I needed it.....(this was also the guy that did not believe me when I said I had a lump on the side of my neck that was causing me some pain). It was my Surgeon that said that if it was him, he would demand radiation therapy.
As Brian said, "early stage cancers have mets to the nodes in the neck that cannot be detected by MRI or CT as they are very early in the process". This was me...........I had both a MRI and a CT scan and surprise six months later I had to have a Radical neck dissection....(yes it was the lump I had told them about).
It is only you that can insure everything is being done for you......you must be your own advocate.
David