Mica,

My primary tumor was at the base of my tongue with metastatis to at least one lymph node on the right side. Since I never had surgery, we'll never know pathologically for sure if there was other node involvement. The reason I'm chiming in here is that when I was originally diagnosed, they called my primary unknown and the ENT wanted to do surgery right away. Had I followed that path, I would have had a radical neck dissection along with post-op radiation. After obtaining a second opinion and finding my primary tumor along the way, my entire treatment plan changed. My advice to you would be get a second opinion if you're not comfortable with your current doctor's treatment plan. Remember surgeons want to cut, radiation oncologiest want to radiate and medical oncologists want to chemo you. I feel I was lucky when I encountered the surgeon at MDACC that didn't want to cut on me. Best of luck and let us know what you decide....and why.

-Brett