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Hello Pauline, 

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Helen, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

Welcome to the online community. I see that you have joined the Head and Neck cancer group and I hope you are finding the group a support.

Waiting for results is a very stressful time and receiving a letter using medical terminology can be confusing and worrying.

Without your medical notes, it’s difficult to explain the significance of the terms you have mentioned, your team at the Sussex Cancer Centre will be able to talk through the results more fully, but I hope the following is helpful.    

In the area of the neck called the larynx or voice box, there is a muscle called the arytenoid muscle. It is attached to two pieces of cartilage (that’s flexible tissue), called arytenoid cartilage. One is attached to the right side of the arytenoid muscle and the other is attached to the left. The muscles and cartilage are involved in speech and swallowing.

So the ‘left arytenoid’ mentioned in your letter is likely to relate to the cartilage on the left side of the muscle in the voice box.

We have a chain of small, bean-shaped lymph nodes (often called glands) throughout our body. These are located in areas such as the neck, arm pits, chest, abdomen and groin. They’re part of the lymphatic system, which is also part of our immune system.

The lymphatic system helps fight off infections and keep them from spreading throughout the body – that’s why we might get swollen glands in our neck with a throat infection, for example. The swollen gland or lymph node might be described as reactive i.e. reacting to an infection.

The lymph nodes are examined as part of the diagnostic tests when a cancer is suspected. Understanding whether the lymph nodes are healthy or are also affected by the cancer will help the medical team plan the correct treatment.

So a lymph node that is ‘reactive in origin’ is a description. Your lymph node had reacted to something, most likely an infection, but important to rule out any suggestion of a cancer.

I do hope you find this information helpful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if there is anything else we can support you with.

Best wishes, Helen

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or email us. 

Ref: HM/KG 

Thank you.