Hello Everyone,

My name is Gary and I have been lurking around here for about a week gathering info and reading the stories of others.

I was diagnosed with SCC of the left buccal mucosa (interior cheek) about 2 months ago. I underwent surgery just over 4 weeks ago to remove the growth along with a neck dissection.

The good news is that all 23 lymph nodes were negative and there were clean margins. The doctors said that based on the size alone I was probably Stage 1, less than 2 centimeters, but there was minor peri-neural invasion and invasion of some of the muscle of the cheek in the removed section. Based on this info my cancer is probably Stage 4 N0 M0 due to the muscular invasion. There does seem to be some hesitation on the part of the doctors to definitively say that I am Stage 4.

I am still in the healing process so I have not yet begun radiation. I will be consulting with another oncologist regarding chemo. My gut tells me to be aggressive due to the fact that I am relatively young, 30, and the probability that I am Stage 4 N0 M0 as opposed to Stage 1.

I should also mention that I had two enlarged lymph nodes removed from my right groin because the showed upon the PET/CT scan. The docs were concerned that I may have another primary, like lymphoma. Fortunately they were negative as well.

I find this board to be a comfort and a place of encouragement. The information I have gathered has made me a much better patient and has assisted in my decision making process. Thank you to everyone!


Gary