Hi Paul,

Welcome and condolences! I was a bit past 70 when I was diagnosed just shy of 5 years ago. August 9th will mark 5 years from the dx.

The only symptoms I had appeared around June, '09, a feeling like an earache
tied to the lump. I went to an ENT to ask what it was, he took on look and simply said, whatever it is,you need to have it surgically removed ASAP! He then set me up with an excellent surgeon, and when the path report came back, it probably read the same as yours. She set me up with a random Medical Oncologist who tried to scare me to death. Obviously didn't work...

As with you, they couldn't find the primary for a couple of months before it was located in the base of my tongue. They first told me that I'd have to have my jaw split (the same thing they told you), but (for reasons unrelated to that, I just didn't care for the overall approach of my randomly assigned Medical Oncologist and) fired him for another who had been highly recommended by Physician friends. The second guy offered me tightly focused radiation, supplemented by a drug called Cisplatin.

Since I was already stage IV, and the lump under my jawbone had been noticeable for several years (by my friends), I (correctly) didn't expect that there was a real cure for me in the cards, there had been too much time for that little **** to cast off seeds to seek out hiding places elsewhere.

I was right, but to start with I also had 3 lymph nodes involved. The dual treatment did work as advertised, and by the end of December I was able to return to the gym. Being in shape helps your body fight this battle enormously! (And I knew that I'd be doing this the rest of my life.)

About 13 or 14 months later, the next shoe dropped, tumors in my liver. Treated these for about 8 months with chemo only, and was able to maintain my regular workouts without any ill-effect.

But the truth is that is very much like playing Whack-a-mole. Wipe out one batch, wait 90 days for a follow up scan, and BAM, another set of tumors show up. Rinse and repeat endlessly.

BTW, the Radiation/Cisplatin combo is the biggest gun in the arsenal.
Personally, I would look askance at any MO who couldn't give you a compelling reason to go another way in your initial treatment. At the least, get another opinion and ask that same question. You only have one first shot at it and you want it to score big!

You can PM me if you think I have anything to offer,

Best of luck, my new friend,

Bart