Number staging system

Hi Steve I’m Leeds cancer Center as well  fir treatment’s we don’t get staging per se. I was T2N2NM  tumour size T2 is between 2-4 cm  n2 is 2 lymph nodes later at pet ct scan was 7 lymph nodes n m ni metastatic I’m fast approaching 5 years. My oncologist is DR sen whose yours ? 
HPV Positive is giid tumours respond well ti treatment. HNC cancers aren’t staged the same as other cancers. 
Hazel 

SteveyN said:

The team insisted that all that they are interested in is the tumour (T4a) stage.

Hi Steve. They are right. That is all that oncologists seem to work in. After all, it’s the only thing that matters. 
What treatment you get depends in tumour size and number of nodes involved. 
I was T2 N0 M0 and had six weeks radiotherapy. 
people with significant nodal involvement often get 7 weeks RT and chemotherapy on top of that and possibly surgery to dissect lymph nodes from the neck. 
If you have distant metastases then treatment is completely different 

HPV positive cancer responds very well to radiotherapy and recurrence is very low  

SteveyN said:

According to Cancer Research UK, staging for HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer

This is what Macmillan say 

Staging is slightly different for each type of head and neck cancer. Oropharyngeal cancers that are HPV-positive have a separate staging system.

Hi Steve

My husband is T4, N2, MO he underwent 3 rounds of induction chemo over 3 months to reduce the tumours followed by 30 radiotherapy and 6 additional chemotherapy . As others mention head and Nexk cancers are staged differently .  Our consultant wasn’t willing to go down the conventional staging route 

Our understanding with staging is T4 means over 6 cm tumour, N2 it has spread locally to other areas of mouth  and throat to include nodes, MO it hasn’t spread anywhere else in the body I e to other organs. This I believe is considered as a stage 3. Although understanding the TNM was enough for us as the whole thing is rather scary .

i hope your treatment goes well

jackie

Hi Steve

We are all different aren’t we? As far as I know if my cancer was staged I was not told anything about it. I really didn’t want to know anyway all I wanted to know was what the treatment would be and my prognosis. Sometimes I think a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing if not understood completely and can cause a lot of unnecessary worry. I just needed re-assurance from my surgeon and an understanding of my treatment plan. I definitely like to know as much as I need to know so I don’t get any nasty surprises and don’t want to stick my head in the sand but if it gets too technical I just get lost and anxious.

Our different personalities respond to different approaches and if you need more in depth information I say go for it if it helps put your mind at rest.

Lyn