I have my first post treatment PET Scan on Tuesday to see if my chemo/radiation treatments removed all of my HPV+ SCC. I’m terrified at the moment and am honestly looking for words of encouragement. At my one month follow up my oncologist said everything looked great and at a separate ENT appointment I was told that no causes for concern were noticed. Unfortunately my anxiety is getting the best of me right now and I can’t help but feel like I may receive negative news.
Hi Squid ... only natural to feel negative. My hubby had surgery and treatment and post 17 months and still has days were he feels negative. Stick with this forum as these guys are true warriors and you have done all the hard work time to heal . Sending you all the best xx
Hi Squid. HPV driven tonsil cancer is uniquely sensitive to radiotherapy and cure rates are in excess of 95%
That’s not to say we can take it for granted and that’s where the stress comes in. I had a hotspot show up at 16 weeks at the site of the original cancer and that set my head back a bit. In the end biopsy was negative.
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
It's great news that your two follow-ups so far were positive! Hold on to the fact that our cancers are very vulnerable to radiotherapy. What you're looking for from the scan results is "complete response to treatment" - that can feel like an anticlimax but it means the cancer is all gone. Hopefully that will be you! Try to have a nice weekend and not think about it - easier said than done I know. Good luck!
Catriona
September 2022 aged 63 diagnosed with HPV associated SCC base of tongue T4 N2 M0. Chemo & radiotherapy for 6 weeks ending Nov 2022. Now over 2 years all clear. See my profile for longer story
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