Hi Dan, Sorry to see you here. I am a 58 year old female who also did not smoke or drink much and ended up with a cancer on the right side of my tongue. I also was being seen by an ENT who also did my surgery. He did a biopsy in the office first and when it came back as cancer then he sent me for a PET scan, which came back negative. I had surgery to remove the lesion on Feb 1, had clear margins, no neck recision, but because it was near a nerve my ENT presented my case to a tumor board, made up of head and neck cancer specialists, other oncologists and radiation oncologists. They came to the consensus that I should have radiation to be sure. I just finished radiation 3 weeks ago and am having a long recovery from that, many side effects. I am not a doctor or an expert in this, just a patient trying to find my way also. My ENT made the call and consulted with oncologists, I felt comfortable with that due to previous experience with this doctor who operated on my father for oral cancer. In your case, you may want to take your records to a specialist in head and neck cancer and get a second opinion, just for your peace of mind, and question your heart specialist about how any further treatments would effect you. The future for my case is, my ENT wants to see me monthly, a PET scan again at 6 months and then on a yearly basis, not sure for how long. A PET scan can only see cancer present, it can't see if any stray cells are floating around ready to invade other areas, so follow up scans will be in your future. The PET scan is read by an experienced radiologist, so no worries there if it comes back negative. Some people here will tell you to go to a Comprehensive Cancer Center for the best treatment. Best of luck to you, keep in touch!
Denise