Understanding Cancer

Hi and welcome. It’s such a pity that you have to deal with this at such a young age. Many of us are very much older. I was 68 when I finished treatment and while it was a challenge it lasted only a few weeks and I made an uneventful recovery. Most patients do. You are young and will heal quickly. 
You don’t say whether you are to have a tonsillectomy but if you do it can be pretty painful for a couple of weeks and most folk just dose themselves up with decent painkillers. 
Surgeons are pretty nifty with neck  dissections these days and you get over that easily. 
As for preparing for RT. Just make sure you’re as fit as you can be. That will stand you in good stead. 
Trust your team. They do this every day and are good at it. 
If you want a flavour of what might happen you could click on Mark’s name  MarkEL  where he has a pretty good diary of his treatment. I have a blog linked at the bottom of this post but I escaped surgery of any kind so it will be of limited value. Some of it might help. 
Stick with us. We are a friendly bunch. No question is daft and somebody will have an answer. 
Best wishes. 

hi Dani , I had a neck dissection 4 weeks ago and will be starting radiotherapy in about 2 weeks . Like you am still very concerned about the radiology but the staff have been so helpful. I’m still in quite a bit of pain but have plenty of meds and am having physio to help with shoulder and arm issues. Good luck with everything and am sure your age will help you overcome everything much easier ! I’m 57

regards Debbie 

I am so sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis. It is a real shock no matter what age you are when this happens. One day you are living your life happily and then bam everything changes and it takes another direction.

I was 59 when I was diagnosed and it was a shock. I hardly every drank alcohol, was reasonably fit, never smoked and ate a healthy diet.Just one of those things.

Be reassured that most head and neck cancers are very treatable especially if caught early and your medical team are really experienced so put your trust in them.Stay positive as this will really make a difference.

Sending you hugs

Lyn

Good evening remainingpositive, most cancers do come later in life, i was 48 when I first had head and neck cancer and did not know a thing about it all so it was all new to me. Recovery and cure rates are very good and they like to check any surrounding areas from where the tumour is especially lymph nodes, i think most of us have had some removed during surgery. A lot of the recovery depends on how much surgery is needed, i had three separate operations and recovered very well once the initial surgery has settled down usually after about two weeks, remaining positive is a big plus so try not to overthink things and avoid Dr Google if possible as it can be misleading. I had radiotherapy and chemotherapy after my first operation and did not suffer that badly from side effects but again it depends on what area they are treating. You will be treated by great surgeons who have done these sorts of procedures many times, wishing you all the best for your operation and treatment, please ask if you need more advice, especially from your consultant as they will be only to pleased to help. Take care.

                                                                  Chris x

Hi dani I’m due to go into surgery this Tuesday 30 th may, whatever age it’s a blow to find out you have cancer, I’m having jaw reconstruction lymph nodes done and I’m dreading it, but I know I’m in good hands and listening to such brave people on here who are going through or have gone through it helps a lot, your young so you should be fine and get through the path that lays ahead, us oldies have a way to go I’m 72 good luck darling x

Hello. I’m nearing 14 months post treatment for tonsil & lymph node hpv 16 positive. I had bilateral tonsillectomy then 6 weeks of chemoradiation. Treatment & recovery are challenging but I went back to work at 6 months post treatment & now am doing really well. I would say  - take the pain meds on schedule, keep well hydrated, rest, listen to your body, take naps, ask your team all the questions you want to,& stick with this fab forum,
It is overwhelming at first, so much info to take in as well as the shock of diagnosis. Take someone with you to appointments - they can take notes & ask questions for you. Ask anything on this forum, we are all here to help. 

Hi Remainingpositive You have hit the nail on the head there with that name , Good on You. I am of a similar nature. I had a heart attack in jan 2020 then diagnosed with base of  tongue cancer in october  same year and told it might have spread to one side , unfortunately to both but treated in jan 2021 and got the all clear . Started feeling unwell and kept going to hospital and told nothing wrong then eventually diagnosed with heart failure , Happy days at least they now know whats wrong with me . Zoom forward to sept 2023 . Sitting at  red traffic lights on a straight road and a guy drives straight into the back of me probably about 6 weeks after getting the all clear from my regular cancer check . Neck didnt feel right so rang my cancer nurse who made appointment with consultant who said I needed  surgery which involved removing everything they could from one side of my neck and getting all the bits from my leg.  They removed 33 nodes 2 which were  cancerous and the surgeon said it was a complete mess .They did a superb job and even thought they could not get the margins. I was given the all clear and was told I was in remission, Excellent. This  Monday I was  discharged by my physio nurse who said I have made an amazing  recovery and basically have more or less full range of movement. I had a CT scan on Thursday and the oncologists assistant rang  Friday to say the radiologist spotted what looked like a  normal cyst on my liver and not to be alarmed when I get a letter through for an MRI scan hopefully next week. This isn't exactly the news I was waiting on as not due to see my oncologist until the 14th of june. Sorry for the long story but my point is you are being looked after by world class consultants and surgeons who are doing amazing work. I am so fortunate to be here writing this is a bit of a miracle and If it has to be round 3 so be it. I would like to point out I am in fine health in general despite having heart failure and walked 3.6 miles this morning on my hands , not really , but when you are having major surgery like mine they won't operate at all if you have a bad heart which they had to sort out for me to have surgery in the first place . My advice would be take one day at a time and staying positive will help you big time. There is light at the end of the tunnel. All the best Regards Minmax