Well, four weeks ago I was about as happy as I could be. Husband had made an outstanding recovery from his pharyngolaryngectomy for hypopharyngeal cancer - despite having radiotherapy-damaged neck tissue from his previous tongue cancer eleven years ago. He was coming to terms with not having a voice, findings ways to manage around it, and starting to enjoy life. But at his first whole body scan they found cancer in a neck lymph node, confirmed with a biopsy. It can’t be removed as it is too close to the carotid artery. He can’t have RT as he has had his lifetime dose. So, we are waiting to see what combination of chemo and / or immunotherapy will be offered. And to get some sense of the prognosis, which is difficult to evaluate as there isn’t an active cancer site outside this lymph node as far as we know. Yet. But can immunotherapy and chemo prevent spread, or will they only slow it?
I’d be really grateful for feedback from anyone who knows more about the effectiveness of immunotherapy and chemo as primary treatment for aggressive head and neck cancers.
thanks, Alison
