Kimberly,

Just in this thread you've gotten a lot of information and I'm sure you are feeling overwhelmed.

Based on your comments in your post the doctor you saw last week classified it as superficial. Which I take it to mean that it was on the surface of your tongue most likely stage 1. Did he confirm this with a biopsy or some other type of test?

As was stated above, the next step would be to have a scan to see if it has spread. This will probably be a CT scan. UMPC will probably want the actual biopsy slides to do there own analysis. Based on these results the doctor(s) will determine a treatment plan.

If it is stage 1 without spread, your treatment could be surgery alone. Part of the tongue plus a possible neck dissection to removed some lymph nodes in the neck. OC typically spreads to the lymph nodes first, so a lot of surgeons will recommend the neck dissection to determine if it has spread even if the CT scan doesn't show this. Some doctors recommend "throwing the book at it" during your initial treatment to minimize the chance of recurrence.

Radiation with or without chemo may be recommended depending what shows up on any additional tests and what they find during surgery. A lot of people with OC end up with radiation and chemo because their cancer was found at a more advanced stage. Some of the advice you were given so far has to do if they recommend radiation.

I've had 4 surgeries on my tongue and radiation about 8 months after my initial surgery. My cancer was found early and my initial treatment plan was surgery on my tongue only (no neck dissection). I went for a 2nd opinion after surgery #1, and that doctor felt that more of my tongue should have removed plus he wanted to do a neck dissection. Needless to say hearing this after already having surgery was extremely upsetting. To top it off when I had sent the surgery biopsy slides to be reviewed, they found out that the original pathologist botched the results. He gave me an all clear and there was actually cancer at the margin. I was now a complete basket case hearing this. I went for a few additional opinions, multiple scans and other tests, and the good news was they did not find any signs of cancer. So they left it up to be to have radiation or pursue "watchful waiting" meaning keep an eye on the area with frequent doctor visits and tests.

The hospital where I had surgery #1 was a small local hospital not a major cancer center. When I had a recurrence I sought treatment at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, which is the best or one of the best H&N cancer centers in the USA.

One thing they did during my surgeries at Hopkins was using a blue dye and frozen sections. The blue dye (can't recall the official name) helps identify areas of concern. Frozen sections are a type of biopsy that is done during surgery - it is a quick biopsy, so not as accurate as a full biopsy, but it increases the odds that they will get it all during the surgery.

I know a number of OC survivors whose only treatment was surgery. That is why early detection is so important. Radiation is often necessary when found later and radiation IMHO is by far harder to recover from and has more long term issues.

Right now, take one step at a time. Get prepared for your next doctor appointment by doing research and making a list of questions to ask.