Kimberly,

I felt like that too when I first started this journey. Granted it's only been about two weeks. Information can make you anxious, especially when it is so much so soon, but it can also be helpful in certain ways. Do what you think is best for you.

From what I have been told, people usually recommend node removal if the tumor is at the 5mm or deeper mark. Originally, mine was only said to be invasive at a depth of 1 mm but when I got my MRI it showed a depth of 4mm. Now, some of this could have been inflammation still from the initial biopsy. Two of the doctors said I did not necessarily need a neck dissection, while three at the CCC suggested that I get some nodes removed just to make sure. They tend to use a more aggressive approach to ensure that the risk of recurrence is less. I had a PET and a CT scan. Both came back normal except for one node that measured 8mm (10mm is considered suspicious based on pathology reports) and so I opted to go ahead and have it done as a precaution mainly from the advice of the team of doctors and many other members here. This has nothing to do with staging. My advice about that would be to not get too caught up in it. I was very caught up in that at first but my surgeon told me that it is simply a tool used for them to quickly explain to other doctors what the situation is for each patient. It does not necessarily give a patient any valuable information.

I know this is a lot to handle but you can do this. If you need help, we are here.