After weeks of waiting, I was finally diagnosed with acinic cell carcinoma yesterday. It came as a shock as my GP told me that he was almost 100% that my tumour was benign and that the radiographer took a biopsy as routine.
At the hospital appointment with the throat specialist I was told I would have surgery to remove the cancer and he wrote down the name for me but didn't tell me much else - or maybe he did but I just didn't take it in.
I don't really know what I'm supposed to do now - do I just sit and wait for the surgery letter to come with an appointment (he said within 2 month) or is there any support out there. I feel I didn't ask any questions as I was in shock and just don't know what to do. I'm trying to carry on as normal and put on a brave face as I have two young children, but think this will be difficult.
Thank you
Hi Jenny10 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that you've recently been diagnosed with acinic cell carcinoma and I can totally relate to it being a shock. When I was diagnosed with melanoma, my dermatologist had actually said when removing the lesion that it was nothing to worry about but he wanted to find out what it was!
The online community is divided up into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the head and neck cancer group, where you can connect with others who have the same type of cancer as you and can answer questions, share experiences and give support.
To join just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here, and join in with existing conversations by clicking on reply.
As for support from your medical team, you should have been given the contact details of your cancer nurse specialist (CNS), sometimes referred to as a keyworker or Macmillan nurse. They are available to answer any questions you might have. If you were given the contact details then you could give them a ring to ask what happens next. If you weren't given their contact details then phone your consultant's secretary and she should be able to give them to you.
It would be great if you could pop something about your diagnosis into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
