Hello Becky, can't say enough about all the great advise these people are giving you. I am fairly new to this too and this site can give you a wealth of knowledge through each stage of your treatment.

Initially my wife was scheduled for surgery the week following her first consultation but that changed when they performed a CT scan and found the tumor was larger than they thought. After her surgery two weeks later (yes the waiting was hard), the surgeon stated that he was glad they did not proceed with the first scheduled surgery as they would not have had a surgeon scheduled to do a tongue reconstruction (forearm free flap) which was necessary due to the tumor size. I think a second opinion would be great but at least get a CT scan to make sure they know what they are looking at before starting surgery.

Unfortunately you have had a bombshell dropped on you but on at least you have found a good resource when questions arise.


Tom-CG to wife, Pam 46@dx
Stage IV Tongue Cancer T2N2C
Dx 6/08, Surgery 7/08, 3 nodes positive
9/08 33IMRT/7Carbo/Taxol
4/09 node biopsy positive, mets to lungs/stomach
5/09 Cisplatin or Cis/Alimta study
6/09 Cis/Taxotere
9/09 Taxotere
1/10 Xeloda
3/10 Cetuximab weekly
6/29/10 lost battle