David,

I agree with Liz, in that hit this cancer with everything you've got. It is aggressive. I can only relate the decisions my sister made while fighting this cancer. She also had squamous cell cancer in the tongue area. Her dentist/ and doctor had been watching the area for 10 years, as each biopsy had been inconclusive. Just to let you know my sister was a dental hygenist, a non smoker and occasional drinker, and very healthy. 2 1/2 years ago, the tongue area started to cause pain. Her surgeon wanted to remove the tumor on the lateral side of her tongue, along with salivary glands and some lymph nodes. She was concerned about her quality of life afterwards, and since they found the cancer so early, she opted for the tumor removal from the tongue only. Her second surgery was to remove more of the tongue area (maybe less than 25% of tongue in all), since the first surgery resulted in a biopsy that proved positive for squamous cell cancer. It then spread to the jaw area and her surgeon wanted to do a radical neck dissection, which my sister decided against. He instead performed a modified neck dissection. She chose not to have the radiation, having the concerns about quality of life your dad has. Connie also became a veggan and was doing everything one could to beat cancer. A few months after the modified surgery, the cancer returned and she underwent the radical neck dissection, but declined the radiation treatments that were recommended. After each surgery my sister was able to recover and felt very strong, she was only 50 years old. About 3-4 months after the radical she began having intense ear pain, which led to seizures. An MRI showed a tumor on her carotid artery. At this point she and her husband moved in with me, because of the amount of care she required. Connie lost her ability to swallow and had a PEG tube inserted. She started radiation and chemo treatments, as surgery was not an option at this time. She went through the 7 weeks of treatment, and was real trooper, through all the nausea and pain, and feelings of claustophobia from the mask, etc... It a tough regiment. Your dad will probably have the option of taking a shot (amofostine) before each radiation treatment that reduces the amount of "dry mouth" he will have at the end of treatments. We were hopeful that my sister was going to beat this cancer, but it didn't happen, as she passed away in August. I don't know if she had been more aggressive with her treatment, if she would still be alive, the cancer was discovered in it's early stage. It just shows you how aggressive this cancer is.

Just a note, a co- worker of mine has a brother-in law, who was diagnosed with neck cancer (he was a long time smoker and heavy drinker). He underwent the radiation and chemo regimen, with plans to remove the tumor surgically after treatment. His tumor literally disappeared after treatment, and surgery was not needed. He needs to drink water constantly as he was not given the option of amofostine shots, but otherwise is doing fine, and glad to be alive. There are miracles happening out there. I've learned that the cancer seems to be more aggressive in people who were non smokers...strange that that should be the case.

If he were my dad I would recommend the aggressive course of action. I know my sister could have lived with the dry mouth, and difficulty swallowing and speaking and the scarring from the surgery. We miss her so.

My thoughts go out to you and your father. Good luck and remember miracles do happen.

Nancy