Thank you, all. Great support here.

I am 41 yrs old. My children are under two, girl and boy.

I am havng my surgery at UCLA. It has been a positive expereince, so far. I also went for a second opinion at Cedars Sinai. Same diagnosis, but its good to feel confident in the plan.

I have one experience that might be worth passing on. My dentist first noticed the lump. Amazing I could have a 1 inch x 1/4 inch lump and not know it! He reffered me to an Oral Surgeon, as at this point it seemed unlikely to be cancer becasue I dont smoke or drink. This Oral Surgeon wanted to cut it out and then do the pathology to be sure it wasn't cancer. I went to a second doctor because at that point the thought of cutting that large a piece of my tongue was shocking! The second doctor took what I thought was a more measured approach, and now in hind sight, I believe saved me a great deal of pain and delay in treating the cancer. The second doctor did the biopsy first. Painful, but when it came back with SCC, he reffered me directly to UCLA even getting me an appointment when I was unable to get one sooner than a month away. The lesson: a second opinion is a good idea.

-Kyle