Susan and Christine, Thanks for the advice. I did go to another hospital and got a second opinion. They said that, based on the CT scan and the PET scan, 60% removal of the tongue was an optimistic estimate. That it would be more like 80 to 90%. I told them the same thing I told the people at U of M hospital. That I would not have that much removed. They offered an alternative which U of M didn't. They said the could do platinum based chemo along with seven weeks of radiation. He said, because I was stage IV he recommended surgery because that was the preferred option based on conventional medical wisdom but that he had very good success with the chemo/radiation approach. My question is, has anyone on here chose that option and what was the outcome. It seems like everyone I see on here so far who had cancer of the tongue had surgery. I'm wondering if it's because those who didn't have surgery aren't around to post about it or if I just haven't been on here long enough to find those other people. Thank you to anyone who can help.