Tina,

I am so sorry to hear of the scan results on your mother. Is she being seen a at a national comprehensive cancer center or a major comprehensive cancer center by someone with significant experience with oral cancer? If not, that would be the most logical place to check for a second opinion. In my case, I had the primary tumor at the base of my tongue and two lymph nodes I could feel in my neck. My doctor chose radiation/chemo first because he said if he did the neck dissection, he would not have to leave as wide a narrow margin which could save more of my tongue. At the end of treatment, there was no cancer left and I didn't have the operation done. I still wonder sometimes, though, if there are small cells of cancer growing slowly that would have been found through pathology of nodes removed.

I know everyone is different but my doctor felt stage IV with multiple node involvement chances for five year survival would not go up significantly with the neck dissection. He also felt a neck dissection later could be one last defense of recurrent cancer. I had MDACC review everything. They did this on the phone with my doctor after I sent them all the pathology reports. They said they would totally concur with the direction my doctor was taking. They have a process that allows faster review doctor-to-doctor that didn't cost me anything and I didn't have to travel there.

Get the peace of mind your mother deserves and be as thorough as you can so the health team can make the best possible plan of attack the first time.

Ed