I am a 42 year old male, life long non tobacco user and I was recently diagnosed with tongue cancer. The primary tumor is on the left side of my tongue and is less than 2cm in size. I had a CT/PET scan that shows mild-moderate activity in one lymph node also on the left side. The node is not enlarged and reported as 1 cm in size. One Head and Neck surgeon is recommending excision of the tongue tumor and a selective neck dissection. He strongly feels I should not have radiation treatment at this time and should save this option for if there is a re-occurence in the future because of my age. The other Head and Neck surgeon is recommending excision of tongue tumor and radiation treatment of the neck instead of a neck dissection. He would do a neck dissection following the radiation treatment if needed in the future. Any thoughts on this? Like most of you I have read so much on the subject that my head is starting to spin and I need to make a decision soon to get a treatment started. I am seeking another opinion from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore (a couple hours away) but my appointment is not until the end of next week and I feel time is of the essence here. I may schedule surgery for the week following my visit to Johns Hopkins and can change my plan if needed.