Success of radiation only without any surgery after 2-3 years?

Startoker

Still have not found one patient cured by radiotherapy alone.

Unknown

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Unknown

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wbcgaruss

Are you still searching for one?

Take care, God Bless-Russ

Startoker

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1703525#Comment_1703525

Yes.

wbcgaruss

Well, Star I am interested too.

So I did a little more searching and found that they do treat patients with radiation therapy alone or surgery alone.

In general, patients with early-stage head and neck cancers (particularly those limited to the site of origin) are treated with one primary therapy—either radiation therapy or surgery.

Also--If the plan of treatment is radiation therapy alone for the primary cancer, the neck is also treated with radiation therapy.

So radiation alone would be early-stage cancer limited to the site of origin. Patients with more advanced cancer are treated with combined modalities of treatment.

Patients who have more advanced cancers are often treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy given together. Sometimes, depending on the clinical scenario, patients are treated with surgery followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

So there are cases that are treated with radiation alone although you may not find someone on here that has gone that route. Principally because people do not end up on here if they are treated for early stage cancer and it is limited to one type of treatment like radiation and it is resolved. Because it is then resolved with that one type of treatment and they have no need to look anywhere else for support or information.

If their cancer is not resolved with that one type of treatment and multiple treatments are now being proposed to them to resolve their cancer situation then they are seeking support and end up finding support sites like this one. Most definitely because they may be upset and confused and wondering about their whole situation where in the treatment they had which was supposed to work failed and now they have to have more treatments that are more devastating to go through and now really trying to make sure they are on the right path.

Here is the site where I got the information from RadiologyInfo.org for patients, Head and Neck Cancer.

https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/hdneck

I also found this--under-Overview of Multimodal Clinical Management of Head and Neck Cancer.

Radiotherapy may be used alone or as a part of multimodality approach, and often with significant long term side effects. Single-modality radiation therapy (RT) may be an alternative for these early-stage cases when functional concerns preclude the use of surgery.

Found on this site--

https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/head-neck-cancer-update/research-protocol

I hope this helps in some way.

Take care, God Bless-Russ

Mike5613

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/326049/success-of-radiation-only-without-any-surgery-after-2-3-years

Hello

I have had your exact diagnosis in 2010 when I arrived at this site. My ENT excised the tumor at biopsy getting clean margins. My only treatment after biopsy was 33 radiation treatments. Treatment was not a cakewalk. My ENT required follow scopes at 3 and 6 months after and then every 6 months for 5 years. After 5 years I was considered cured requiring only follow ups if l have any issues.

During treatment you will loose your voice it returns. It will be very painful swallowing for quite some time. Make sure you keep swallowing no matter how painful. Maintaining calorie intake with liquid high calorie liquids is essential.

This site offers great insight to both the process and advice and if nothing else moral support.

I am currently do well in 2023 . My voice is sometimes raspy and weaker. Swallowing needs to be monitored as radiation is the gift that keeps giving.

So YES radiation as a sole treatment can be curative.

Good Luck

Mike

Startoker

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1703605#Comment_1703605

Did you have any problems aspirating (things going down the wrong tube).

Nancy24

My husband was diagnosed with HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer in 2016. He received 35 doses of proton radiation and 7 cisplatin (chemo). Cancer had spread to a lymph node on left side of neck and it was challenging to find the primary tumor at the base of his tongue. Never had surgery. 6 1/2 years later he is still NED.

armana

I was diagnosed with Tonsil cancer back positive for the HPV virus in 2014. They found the primary in the right tonsil that had spread to two lymph nodes on the same side.

I had the Tonsil removed and only got 33 radiation treatments with no chemo. The treatment was brutal, and it took about seven months to get to the new normal. The taste was back entirely in a year, and the dry mouth kept improving for about three years post-treatment. The only side effect after 8 1/2 years is a bit of dry mouth.

I hope this helps.