Andy,

Welcome to the neighborhood. Hopefully, your membership to this club will be revoked for lack of proof.

I did not have oral cancer consuming my thoughts as you speak of but I did have a nagging hunch that the lump and then the second lump in my neck were something more than a sinus infection. I spent much of December, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun and July bouncing from doctor to doctor. I had four courses of antibiotics. I saw my allergist, family practitioner, 2 internal medicine specialists, dentist and, finally, a plastic surgeon. I asked him to just remove the lump to give me peace of mind since I could see it when I looked in the mirror and I could feel it when I turned my neck. He wanted a second opinion and suggested referring me to an ENT. I looked at my wife and she said take it out. I looked at the plastic surgeon and said there's your second opinion. I went to him because there are so many nerves in the face and neck, I wanted someone that could maneuver these nerves and remove the lump. He came out after the surgery and told me it was infected and puss filled and looked oddly enough like tuberculosis. He said he could see another swollen lymph node farther back and because he could not get to it in the room he was using, he opted to stuff everything back in and just take a biopsy. This was Friday, July 18, 2003. July 21, 2003 he called and told me I had metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Over the next few weeks I found out I had stage IV cancer with the primary tumor at the base of tongue.

I knew something was wrong but the important thing is that I never stopped until I had peace of mind that the doctors were doing enough to answer my question. Had I stumbled on this site in December 2002, I would have started treatment sooner because I would have known who to go to for positive confirmatin of what I was dealing with instead of trying to rule out what it wasn't.

Give yourself peace of mind and find the right place to go. Clear your mind and focus on the miracle of life that you are sharing with your wife. Nothing will ever compare to the experience of your firstborn child. I am wishing you nothing but the best of all possible worlds.

Ed