I looked at the Practice Guidelines in Oncology (Thank you - very informative), and determined that my tonsil cancer (T1N0M0) is stage I. My plan to have radiation is consistent with this stage. I'm also a Grade 3 - Poorly differentiated. The document didn't go into how the grade impacts the treatment. I go the the medical oncologist tomorrow. I'm guessing she takes both the stage and grade into account and a number of other factors when she makes her recommendation. Except for the cancer, I'm a very healthy, 48 year old female, non-smoker and weekend wine drinker. Does anyone know of any documents that explain the stage/grade relationship? I'd like to be able to educate myself more before my appointment. Thanks!

Here's a National Cancer Institute fact sheet on tumor grade . It does not specifically discuss the effect of grade on the treatment plan, other than to say that there is an effect, but does offer an overview of what the different grades mean.

I expect others with a similar dx to yours will weigh in, but this is a start.

All the best,
Leslie

We also have a pretty good explanation on the home page http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/stages_cancer.htm

Leslie pointed out to me that we don't cover grading very well so here you have it:

The definitions of the G categories apply to all head and neck sites except thyroid. These are:

G - Histopathological Grading

GX. Grade of differentiation cannot be assessed
G1. Well differentiated
G2. Moderately differentiated
G3. Poorly differentiated
G4. Undifferentiated

Differentiation: In cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumor. Differentiated tumor cells resemble normal cells and tend to grow and spread at a slower rate than undifferentiated or poorly differentiated tumor cells, which lack the structure and function of normal cells and grow uncontrollably.

In other words, poorly differentiated tumors can or will cross all boundaries of tissue types (muscle, soft tissue, etc.), even into bone.

All of these factors are taken into consideration for your treatment plan.

Another term they like to use is how "invasive" it is - like "focally invasive" for instance.

Focal: In terms of cancer, limited to a specific area.

You and I have basically the same Dx with the exception that mine was "moderately well differentiated" and my tumor was much larger (T3).

I would recomend bringing a good note taker with you each time you see the doctor. They cover a lot in a short time period and you will have to make many decisions very quickly.

It's great that you want to be your own advocate and we highly encourage that. We are here to help in any way we can. It's sounds like they caught it at a very early stage and that is a good thing as well.

Here is a link to a dictionary of cancer terms you may find useful http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary/