anyone have the neck dissection AFTER rad/chemo?

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  • JROPPENHEIMER
    JROPPENHEIMER Member Posts: 1
    #22
    ahollie said:

    thanks for the words of comfort...

    makes me feel somuch better to hear good comments about it..i hope it doesn't come to this but i am glad to hear it is something he can manage..5 more rads adn then 3 weeks rest..hopefully the scan will show something different and he won't have to face the surgery but if he does..it sounds like its something he can handle....

    I had a thyroidectomy and

    I had a thyroidectomy and neck disection on may 6. 30 lymph nodes were removed, several were cancerous. I also had 3 enlarged lymph nodes with cancerous tumors within them. This situation warranted a neck dissection. Any time someone has stage one thyroid cancer the dr. may decide to leave the lymph nodes alone. That is if its contained in the thyroid. My advice to you is to tell your dr. , if anyone else in your family develops thyroid cancer, to remove the lymph nodes since they may be cancerous. living without lymph nodes means the personwill have a slightly impaired immune system. Not a seious problem.

    Best wishes and good luck.

    Fred

  • mingo
    mingo Member Posts: 2
    #23
    neck dissection

    I had the neck dissection after chemo 10 years ago. I opted to not have radiation at that time and it went really well.  I don't know if that really helps because I didn't have the radiation that time.

  • SASH
    SASH Member Posts: 421 Member
    #24
    Neck Disection

    I had a full radical neck disection after 46 rad treatments and 10 chemos.

  • yensid683
    yensid683 Member Posts: 349
    #25
    I did...

    I actually had two, the first was some 5 months after the end of rads, the PET showed a couple of hot spots that were thought to be scar tissue but the tumor board recommended surgery anyway (stage IVa, 3 cm primary and 6 cm nodes).  Surgery was outpatient so I was home the same day albeit with a great wad of bandages around my neck.

    I had a follow up PET in March only to find new areas of concern and was referred to a specialist in H&N issues, so a second dissection.  They exposed a couple of suspicious nodes but pathology showed them to be negative, so the spots were false positives.  The second surgery was more extensive and a much longer scar, plus removal of some fiberous scar tissue so there's a bit of a defect, and I only spent one night in the body and fender shop, but all is well.   A PET 6 months later was negative. 

    I do have some stiffness in the left side of my neck, I keep after it with stretching and exercises as post radiation fibrosis is a potential issue for IRMT patients, especially after a post rads surgical experience but it isn't anything that I can't handle. 

    2 years out of the end of rads and I'm doing well

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