good luck KayKay

A colleague of mine who has been working in oncology for years and knows everyone, told me that if she had cancer she would travel to the Peter McCallum Centre for her treatment and she lives in Sydney.

Alex did not have cancer in the same area as your Dad, but he did have "inoperable" cancer. Alex's was base of tongue (BOT), tonsils and lymph nodes (both sides). When I heard "inoperable" my heart sank because I thought this meant non treatable and, therefore, fatal.

Not true. Inoperable might mean that surgery would take out too many of his functions (eating, drinking and speech) and they are considering other options.

Alex's inoperable cancer was diagnosed in early 2010 and he was given chemotherapy to reduce the tumour and then chemoradiation to annihilate it. And it did!!

3 years on, Alex is back at work, and as enthusiastic about life as I have ever seen him. Despite his continuing sagas with eating. Thick soup which he euphemistically describes as "stew" is still his best effort so lives on Ensure Plus. He feels that 2012 was his best year ever and is looking forward to 2013 being even better.

Trust your tumour board, but ask lots of questions and the first might be "what do you mean by inoperable?"

good luck