Head and neck Cancer diagnosis for Mum

Hi. Yes taste does come back. Mine came back three weeks after treatment ended. For me it wasn’t really the taste issue but that I had no appetite at all. That lasted for months . It makes wanting to eat a real struggle. I lived on oats, eggs , shortbread and granola plus Ensure which gave me all I needed.  Once she gets her treatment plan she will start to feel better especially when she hears how good the prognosis is. 

Bin Google especially when treatment starts. She will have  good team by her side. 

Hello Here4Mum, just popping up to say welcome and good luck to you and your Mum. She's lucky to have your steadfast support and it's great that you're getting the info and support on here. I'm less than 18 months out of treatment and absolutely fine apart from dry mouth - taste buds OK too. It is tough at the time, you just have to get through it. Hang in there

Thank you for your message, and I’m so pleased to read you have the all clear, hearing positive stories like this give me some hope. 
we have her first appointment tonight at 8pm! Such a rubbish time for an appointment :( but hopefully the doc will be able to locate the primary cancer… how will they do this? A camera down the throat? Or up the nose? Then we will know more. The terrors have come back today.:( 

With me they put a tube with a camera down my nose and it was painless . I felt no discomfort at all 

Thank you for the info, can I please ask what and where they found in your case? Did you have swollen lymph nodes too? Thanks 

Hi I had a find needle biopsy in the lump in my collarbone which detected squamous cancer cells thrn followed by a mri  snd ct dcsn ehuch showed cancer in my tonsil right ine followed by biopsy. I did have camera up the nose but that didn’t show my cancer as it was inside my tonsil 

try ti remain positive HNC responsed well to treatment 

Hazel x

Hi, no I had a visible lump on my right side. My lymph nodes were not affected .  The tube found the tonsil and area behind my tongue. Then after that I went fire contrast scan 

Here4mum said:

how will they do this? A camera down the throat? Or up the nose?

Yes. They already know there is cancer in her lymph nodes. A scope up the nose. Its a little unpleasant but not painful. If there is nothing obvious they will go to taking both tonsils out and doing a few biopsies at the back of her tongue 

This might be followed by an MRI or PET scan 

Thank you! Good to be prepared just hope it’s not a long wait for her to find this little bugger! 

Hello Here4mum.  I’m just a year older than your Mum and have just been through something very similar.  Mine started when I found a lump in my neck when applying moisturiser one night.  Like your Mum’s the lump was not the primary, but signalled the existence of a primary, in my case on the back of my tongue.  My primary tumour was a stage 1. It was caught very early.  It was removed surgically, as was the offending lymph node along with a number of other nodes which proved innocent.  I then had 5 weeks of radiotherapy to mop up any escapee cancer cells.  I won’t lie, the radiotherapy was tough.  
I hope your Mum’s anxiety eases.  I am sure that this aspect will become easier to deal with once she has a diagnosis and knows what she is dealing with.  There is a lot of support out there and the MacMillan nurses are brilliant.  It’s all too easy to imagine the worst possible scenario…and we’ve probably all done it.  But, as has been stated below, these tumours are eminently treatable.  If it’s any help, apart from the obvious pain in the immediate aftermath of surgery- well controlled with pain killers, I have experienced no pain throughout my treatment.  
One thing I would suggest and I really wish I had done so, is to try and gain some weight before treatment starts.  I lost over a stone during treatment and I was very slightly built before it started.  I am now 3 months out of treatment and am struggling a bit keep my weight stable let alone put any back mainly because food has no taste and I have some difficulty swallowing owing to a dry mouth.  My sense of taste is returning slowly….very slowly.  We’re getting there.
Please also make sure you look after yourself.  It is tough, if not tougher for those trying to support those in your Mum’s situation.  I know it hit my husband like an express train.
I don’t know what my prognosis is..it’s very early days, but I feel very well within myself and my medical team are confident so I’m hopeful it has been sorted.

Happy to share further details if you would find it helpful.

Best wishes to you and your Mum 

Liz