diagnosis

cooter,

Now you know and the 2 month delay is more normal than we like to believe, but may not matter anyway.  Let’s just move along and take care of things, in a timely fashion.

The first ENT did not get a positive biopsy, which is common.  He thought it looked like cancer and did recommend a 2^nd opinion.  Some H&N members spend years trying to figure things out.

I do not know about your cancer, but scc often takes years to present itself.  Don’t beat yourself up about the delay.  Instead, prepare!  Prepare to meet this head-on with the goal of winning.  It can be done.

Try reading the superthread, it is time to get smart, we all had to do it.

Time is crucial and so are you!

Best of luck.

Matt

First, welcome...this forum is full of warm, caring, loving, and knowledgeable people. I am grateful I found it!  I was diagnosed May 20 with SCC Stage IV tonsil cancer metastized to 2 lymph nodes  (T1N2bM0).  This was after 2 months of my doctor thinking it was a swollen lymph gland.  So it does happen.  My treatment was 3 cycles of chemo ( cisplatin ) 3 weeks apart and 35 radiation trestment.  I have 2 radiation treatments left and I am done.  Reading posts here and asking questions has helped me so much through this journey.  Drivingdaisy is correct.  Staying positive is a must!  You are in the right place!  You will beat this!!

Joanne

We were at our granddaughter's wedding when my husband told me he was having trouble with an on and off ear ache and some swallowing problems.  When we returned he went to the doctor and he said it was an ear infection and gave him drops to use but said if not better within a week to see an ENT.  He went to the ENT (one that we had used with our children) and when he came home he told me that our local ENT upfront said it was cancer but that he wanted a CT scan before doing a biopsy.  All this took place in a month's time period then another couple of weeks before treatment started.  My husband was diagnosed with larynx cancer Stage III SCC due to the size of the tumor.  PET scanned showed no spread.  He underwent 35 radiation and 3 chemo treatments (Cisplatin).  Wish we had gotten a second opinion from a head and neck specialist.  Treatment didn't work and he was referred to a specialist.  He then underwent surgery (9 months after diagnosis) and we were told up front that due to the radiation he might have a hard type healing but thankfully he healed without a problem.  There are several on here that have larynx cancer.  There is another site that gives good information on this type of cancer and that is Web Whispers. 

Radiation and chemo treatment is hard and side effects are hard (we were told that head and neck radiation is the worse there is) but just remember everyone reacts differently to treatment.  Unfortunately a year after surgery my husband was diagnosed with a second primary at the cervical of his esophagus and then spread to his right lung.  Our specialist told us that it wasn't a spread from the larynx cancer and I have often wondered if it was due to the radiation.

Wishing you peace and comfort

Cooter:

I too was diagnosed with Stage IVA tonsil cancer on March 1, 2016. Unfortunately, our cancers tend to show symptons late in the game.  I noticed slight irritation in the back of my throat in mid December with strep-like white patches appearing in late December. By mid February, a lymph node on that side of the neck began to grow. Diagnosed with Stage IV on March 1. Like many others on this site, late Stage III or Stage IV is very common as very few symptons arise in the earlier stages.

Hang in there though.  Even at these late stages, this type cancer is very curable. I had surgery to remove tonsils, part of tongue base and parts of soft palate. I just completed chemo and radiation treatments on July 15, 2016. Waiting on future good news now on post PET in early October.

Good luck to you on your upcoming journey and continue to use this site for advice as it will serve you well.

Freddie

Try not to worry. Most Oral type cancers are diagnosed as, what you can say as late. Little to no signs until it spreads to lymph nodes and even then cancer is usually not the first thought. Many go through several rounds of antibiotics before being referred out. By the time you get to the specialist, and then a scope and biopsy and then to the tumor board and meetings with all your doctors and then possible surgery then the whole plan is then laid out. It takes what seems like forever, but it all works out. 

We were a little luckier and faster than most as a personal friend is the head nurse in the Otolarygoloy Oncology dept where we needed to be, so she put the rush on. But everyone else here is usually a couple of months before the real treatmetn begins.

My husband had the lymph node swelling for 10 months before he decided to do anything about it and over 3 years out and he is NED. 

You have cancer, now hurry up and wait.

Sandy