The last 3 weeks have been a roller coaster ride ever since my first appt. with the ENT. I had a gut feeling that this was not going to be good. My husband Joe, and I have been doing a lot of research online about base tongue cancers. Knowledge is power! I found a lump in my neck about 2 inches below my R. ear the middle of April. I got an appt. right away with my G.P. in Jacksonville, Fl. He sent me for an ultra sound and, after viewing that, ordered a CT scan. We were leaving in 2 days for St. Croix and our wedding. The imaging facility couldn't get me in that soon. Two days after we returned, the movers came to haul our stuff to Hendersonville, N.C. So no opportunity to get the scan done at that time. I was told by my dr's office to just get it done as soon as I could. No real sense of urgency from them and, as a matter of fact, I was sort of led to believe this was a "complex cyst". Didn't sound too scary. Due to several clitches in getting our insurance changed from coverage in Fl. to N.C., I wasn't able to get the CT scan done until June. Then to find a doctor on our new plan took more time. Finally an appt. on, of all days, July, Friday the 13th! After many questions (have you ever smoked, NO!), sticking his fingers down my throat and looking at the CT scan, he looked me in the eye and said, this is not a cyst, this is a tumor. You all know what a shock that is. I was thinking, see the doc, get the cyst drained, go home and pack for our w/e camping trip. Instead I had an hour drive to think about how I was going to tell my husband. I had the impression right from the start that even though this doctor was trying to be objective, he was sort of giving me the "preparation" speech. My poor husband was shattered. I had my biopsy done on 7/18 and breezed through that. Just a couple of Tylenol and back to normal food in one day. Actually went for a 2 mile power walk the next morning. I feel great! Today was the big day. We went together to see the doc and finally find out what we're dealing with. I was very prepared for the bad news and handled it quite well. I had questions and knew that falling apart wasn't going to do any good. I think that Joe was still harboring hope as he looked sort of pale and shaken. I felt sorry for the doc. This guy probably just sees kids with ear and nose issues. Here he's facing this very healthy looking woman who has had no risk factors, actually somewhat of a health nut, and having to tell her she has a "large" cancerous growth on the back of her tongue. We all know "large" is not a good thing. It's somewhat hopeful, but not positive, that this has not spread to the lymph nodes. That sure would help. I'm being referred to a facility in Charleston, SC. where, this doctor told me, he would go if this was him. The next best place according to him, is in Houston. We did read about the Houston facility and it sounded top notch. He had already spoken to the doctor he's referring me to about my case. Just waiting for the call to set up my appt. In the meantime, I'm going out to the backyard to shovel mulch. Sorry this was pretty long, but I needed to get this off my mind so I don't just freeze up here. Joe and I have already decided that we can't let cancer be our life. I would love to hear from anyone with advice that they wish they had had as they started down this road. As a relative newcomer to the Asheville/Hendersonville NC area, it would be great to find a buddy (or more) to share with.