Hello everyone, my father was diagnosed with oral cancer on Feb. 18th and he has had numerous doctor visits since (oncologist,radiologist,ent. and the doc who puts the tubes in him ). He does not have firm dates as of yet to when his treatments begin. The oncologist said he thinks it is a stage 3 but yesterday the radiologist said it could be a stage 4 because of the size and the possibility of lymph node involvement. They did a biopsy of his neck on the 26th but they could not read the results therefore assuming it is cancerous. The radiologist said he does not want to assume, he wants another biopsy done. My question for everyone - does this seem longer than usual as far as getting him in for chemo or are we overreacting? With lymph node involvement it is my understanding that the chance for further spreading is very high. How quick it can spread is our main concern. Any input on similar situations would be appreciated.
Thanks again.

Oral cancers spread at different rates depending on which type you have. But in the majority of cancers things move rather rapidly. I can somewhat understand the radiologist perspective, in that there needs to be a complete understanding of extent to plan treatment properly. It does not sound like these guys are all acting in concert with each other, and that bothers me some. Who is responsible for now getting him in to do the biopsy? If the radiologist hasn't called the surgeon to do it, time is wasting. Get the biopsy, get everyone on the same page with a treatment plan that they all can agree on and get them moving. If their schedules do not seem reasonable, or they are not willing to accommodate you and put you off to distant dates...get another doctor.