Tonsil related cancer

Cervical cancer and tonsil cancer, as well as anal cancer, can be HPV-mediated cancers. 

sierra28 said:

mp327
I wonder how comon

mp327

I wonder how comon tonsil cancer is.  I am going to an ENT dr. on Thursday and I am worried that with the activity shown on my PET scan that my drs. dismissed this as not an active cancer.

sierra28 

I am on another support site and there are quite a few tonsil cancer people on that site.  You can actually check the CSN site and see how many there are here.  Look under head and neck cancers.  Keep in mind that there are things besides cancer that can be seen as activity on a PET scan, so try not to worry until you have a reason to.

sierra28 said:

mp327
I still haven't had my

mp327

I still haven't had my first check-up to see if my treatment was successful in curing my anal cancer and now I am worried about this.  I ternd to worry more than I need too, but thanks for the encouragement on he PET scan activity.  After reading about all the people on this site that were NED I was feeling confident that I beat this cancer also, but now I am a little discouraged with this new worry.  I will let you know how I make out Thursday with the ENT doctor.

Sierra28

How long ago did you finish treatment?  Usually, the first appointment post-treatment is at the 6 week mark with DRE and anoscope.  I hope your appt. on Thursday goes well. 

sierra28 said:

tonsil cancer

mp327,

Went to ENT doctor and he was not too concerned abnout tonsil cancer.  No swelling, sore throat.  He said he can take them out but they are so small he does not feel that it is needed.  I go back in 3 months.  I finished my treatments June 18th and go for anoscope July 25th.

Dear Sierra28

A year after my treatment I got Pertussis which is Whooping Cough and from that got all kinds of things on my tonsils and the back of my throat. At the time my internist saw what was going on, I had not received the letter from the health department advising me of my infectious disease. I had been treated accordingly with two rounds of antibiotics (appropriate) and steroids (inappropriate) by a pulmonologist. My (now former) pulmonologist didn't notify me of the nature of the illness so I was walking around infecting people. Since I had been sick for ninety days by this time, I was very concerned I had throat cancer. The ENT the internist referred me to assured me, even though he did not know what was wrong with me, it was not cancer. What a relief! I'm a singer and had lost my singing voice. After quite some time, it is now better than ever as a result of the care given by the ENT for my instrument.

I had Cervical Cancer at age 26 and lost my uterus, I was diagnosed with Anal Cancer at age 61 but still have all the working parts down there for that job even though I was at some point in stage III. The doctor did not want me to focus on what stage of III, she just told me the treatment would work and it looks so far, like she was right. My lymphatic system, however was dealt a permanent blow.

Martha said that cervical cancer and anal cancer as well as throat and neck cancer can be related to HPV and this is very true. I never tested positive for HPV and until recently believed the tests to be inaccurate. But earlier this year I was diagnosed with an Immunoglobulin Deficiency which caused various auto immune responses in my body. This diagnosis was after I went deaf in my left ear and suffered vertigo for eight weeks serious enough to keep me from feeling safe to drive. It took a year for the vertigo and dizziness to go away completely. I received an implant for my hearing and for the preop, the surgeon requested my immunoglobulin check. I guess this was protocol for the very, very (one in four thousand people) illness that was so severe it killed all the cillia in my left ear and destroyed all hearing ability on that side.

But now I get infusions of Immunogobulin from Human Blood plasma monthly. It makes me feel flu like and very fatigued for a couple of days and then I am off to the races, feeling younger than I have in years. The immunoglobulin deficiency I has affects the mucus in the body which, let's face it, is everywhere. 

I keep telling this story because I want people to realize that only one in 50,000 people are born with this disorder so most doctors never encounter it and don't test for it, although the HPV test is done now concurrently with a pap smear. I fear too much research is being done on anal cancer as being an HPV related cancer as though this is part of finding a cure. People getting vaccinated for HPV will not be immune from the cancer if they have what I have. 

I urge everyone who has read this far to ask for a test for immunoglobulin deficiency. Your internist can run it. The insurance company will be happy to pay for it. My test results showed for one thing, that I had no immune defense whatsoever against pneumonia. Talk about saving the insurance company money! The infusions are expensive but not as expensive as a hospital stay. I have a friend in intensive care for pneumonia today as I write this.

Good luck to you. I am hoping you bounce quickly back from the ordeal your body has been through. Take heart in that we all share mutually our fear that no matter what is going on in our body, it's cancer! Thank God we have the courage and the support support of each other to face our fears and eliminate this possibility by thorough follow up.

All the best,

Sandy