Hi I'm new to the board.

My Dad (who's 69) finished his 7 week treatment on June 2; 35 rads and 3 chemo's cisplatin; for base of tongue SCC and nodes. He did pretty well.

We got the results; the dr said tongue tumour is gone and nodes have shrunk 50% (based on MRI and CT scans done 2 months after treatment and a scope in dr's office).

I see on the CT scan (which was done one week after the MRI) that a few of the nodes shrunk a bit more. The largest node is 1.9 cm and the smalles 5mm. The rad dr said nodes could continue to shrink, but not sure.

The surgeon says he should have a neck dissection. Mod radical on one side and mod mod on the other side.

The surgeon explained that the large nodes could be negative or positive and has no way of knowing unless he does the surgery. On the other had I read so much about PETs and how they can determine whether the surgery is needed or not.

Canada doesn't recognize PET scans. My Dad had one prior to treatment; which along with the other scans, determined the primary.

My Dad is going for a PET scan at the private clinic again.

So confused. He's not sure what to do. Well I guess after he gets the PET he can think better.

Any information on the surgery would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!