Bob,

I am so glad to hear your good news. I know it may not seem to be good news that you are getting ready for a rough roads ahead, but the news is good, indeed, compared to what it could have been. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Ed

Great news Bob!! Good luck on your surgery and keep us posted... You are going to do great...

So Bob, don't keep us in suspense, are you you getting radiation or not?

Everyone - Sorry for my late response. I appreciated everyone's helpfullness & well wishes prior to my surgery on 6/22/04.
I had a partial glossectomy performed on the right side of my tongue on 6/22. The tumor size at the greatest diameter was 1.2 cm and the depth of the tumor was 0.8 cm. After the surgery, I was informed that the margins were free of the tumor, however, when the pathology report came back a week later, my doctor revealed that the following two issues exist: deep margin is very close at one point to the tumor (less than 1mm). The other issue is the greatest depth of the tumor is 0.8cm.

My doctor's recommendation was to perform another partial glossectomy whereby he would take an additional (1 cm) off the right latteral side of the tongue. In addition, he would also perform a partial neck discestion and remove vulnerable lymph nodes.

At this point, I decided to make appointments to cancer centers in N.Y and Philadelphia, which I should have done in the beginning.

My appointment at the N.Y Cancer center was this past Monday. I was very impressed with the doctor and nurse. The doctor recommended not to due further surgery on the tongue or neck but get 6 weeks of radiation on the tongue and neck. He felt that additional surgery may not address possible cancer cells that could be anywhere in the tongue.

I also went to a cancer center in philadelphia on 6/23 and was also very impressed. The doctor in Phila recommended not to get Radiation but to get the tongue surgery and neck disection.
The doctor emphasized that 6 weeks of radiation is not enough to kill the cancer cells in the tongue and neck.

My pathology slides are still being reviewed at both Cancer Centers, therefore the recommendations have not been finalized.

I am curious if anyone has been in this similar situation. Your help is much appreciated!

Thanks again.
Bob

Don't tell my tumor that! - I "only" had 6 weeks of radiation- and other than the 2 chemo treatments - nothing else. And don't tell that to all of the other stage III/IV survivors here that also had just radiation (and chemo). Maybe it wasn't strong enough to kill the cancer but it damn near killed me.

I am more than a little confused by doc #2's remarks. Don't tell me he was a surgeon?!? Did a tumor board at each facility make the recommendation?

Gary, I truly understand what you mean because my treatment is very similar to yours with about 6 weeks of radiation and 4 chemo treatments. No surgery. But we can't compare our situatin with Bob's since we have different types of cancer. Ours is tonsil and his is tongue,which may cause a total difference in treatment.

Karen

Wow, that surprises me too to hear a doc say six weeks of radiation is not enough... Knowing how my case has unfolded (as described above), I'd ask about surgery, neck dissection AND radiation. But that's just me...

Bob,

I'm also puzzled by the notion that 6 weeks of radiation is not enough! I can't tell from your latest message whether the doctors you spoke with in both cases were speaking on behalf of an entire team that had weighed the pros and cons of surgery/radiation/chemo. (Of course, when you have the rest of the pathology reports, that may also have a further effect on the recommendations you're getting.)

At this stage, I think it's very important to be sure you have the full, multidisciplinary input from the hospitals you're dealing with.

Cathy

Bob,
As tiresome as getting additional opinions can be, I would suggest getting a third one. As Bryan has pointed out a number of times on these discussions, the danger of micro mets is not inconsiderable (you can search the archives about this) and multi-modal treatments tend to be more successful. - Sheldon

This confusion is so the norm. and so frustrating Right now my husband is in the bind of choosing between watchful waiting post surgery T2NoMo of the oral tongue or having radiation. As in the archived debate one Dr says watch wait and save radiation for a reoccurence and another Dr says get it now and worry about a reoccureence if and when it happens. For those who have had a reoccurrence after radiation what were your treatmnet options?