Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the inputs and advice. Having or not having radiation is definitely a tough issue for me at the moment.

The oncologist said that in my case, the risks of radiation would outweigh what would only be a very nominal gain. My ENT specialist concurred with this opinion.

I've not had a second oncologist opinion on this, so as a first step I'll definitely seek additional advice and weigh these up to make a final decision.

If my slides were tested for HPV I havn't been notified of the results. I'll definitely follow up on this too.

Everything has happened so quickly since my diagnosis (Oct 29th) so I'm still very much in the research and learning phase.

Thanks again,
Tamara

Diagnised 29th Oct 08 (29 years old): SCC, T2N1 - partial glossectomy (25%); flap construction (twice - first one died); neck dissection 8 nodes removed, 1 node positive; trache - 14 days, partially collapsed lung. No radiation at this time.