When my husband was diagnosed with a base of tongue/tonsil cancer and spread to two lymph nodes, we went to two of the top CCC for consultation -- Johns Hopkins and Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Neither one would have considered starting with surgery, for precisely the reasons Brian gives. The Hopkins surgeon said -- "surgery to the base of tongue will leave you with significant swallowing and speech issues." The oncologist at Sloan said the same thing, and added, "we are getting such good results with concurrent radiation and chemotherapy that we do not do surgery at all in the vast majority of our cases."

My husband ended up being treated at Hopkins -- 33 radiation treatments and 7 weekly infusions of carboplatin and o subsequent surgery. In any case, although this is a very rigorous treatment and in no way a "walk in the park" he made it through quite well and his initial post-treatment exams have found no cancer. Of course we are monitoring everything carefully and keeping all fingers and toes crossed.

Brian as usual gives excellent advice -- please make sure you consult, if possible, at a comprehensive cancer center (CCC) and get a radiation and medical oncologist involved in your Dad's treatment planning. Take time to get educated and do not be afraid to ask the hard questions --

Best luck,
Gail