New diagnosis of throat cancer with very high possibility of tongue and lymph nodes being affected

Hi AJ and welcome to the community. So sorry you are here though. 

First bit of advice. Stay off google. I'll explain the staging system.

Our cancers are graded TNM

T stands for size of tumour N stands for number of lymph nodes involved and M stands for metastasis....or spread to the rest of the body.

Mine was T2N0M0 

N2 means that they think he has cancer in two lymph nodes. His final staging will come after the MRI

Here is a link to explain it

STAGING

The waiting is a horrid part of all this but it won't be long till there is a plan in place and they can get on with treatiment. You'll both feel better then.

Stick around. There are lots of folk here who have survived and thrived to lend you a hand

Hi AJ21 and welcome to the forum.

I was diagnosed with cancer on the base of my tongue and completed treatment in August 2018.

Dani has explained the staging system to you very clearly and I just wanted to reiterate her advice to steer clear of google - it can be frighteningly misleading.

It's a horrible time waiting for a full diagnosis but your team will want a very clear picture of all the scans so they can provide the appropriate treatment for your husband.

There are many of us here who have received similar diagnoses and treatments so lots of support and advice should you need it.

All the best.

Linda x

Thank you both so much, we both feel like rabbits in the headlights at the moment 

Hi AJ21 and a warm welcome from me. 

Waiting is horrible and the waiting over the Christmas period can be even worse due to holiday delays and all the festivities going on around you.  Many of us have that particular T shirt and totally understand your feelings.

Take heart that these cancers have a high cure rate, even though the treatment can be quite tough.  He may have just surgery or radio (and maybe chemo) or a combination of all. 

Being in the lymph nodes is not always a problem as it means they are doing their job of catching the cancer cells before they go to the rest of the body.  I had mine taken out along with my tonsils.  I don't miss them one bit!

Once recovered almost all of us have a perfectly acceptable quality of life with our families and friends, travelling abroad and doing many of the things we enjoyed before.  One bonus cancer gives most of us (yes, it is a bonus) is the strength to seize the moment and do things right then that we may have put off until too late into the future.

I say this to help you and your husband look past that immediate black hole.  You will get through it and, if you need our help - we're here for you.

Hi AJ welcome to our small community. I am 3 years post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with several affected lymph nodes. My diagnosis was T2N2NM tumour size 2-4 cm snd 2 lymph nodes no metastasis. By the time treatment started the lymph nodes had increased to seven !! My oncologist wasn’t worried so neither was I. Trust your team theg will get your hubby through this. It’s not easy but if I can do it anyone can. My blog is detailed below with links to others it may help you when you’re ready.  
I was 61 when diagnosed and am happily living my life. 
hope this reassures you.
 The waiting is the worst part.  
Hazel 

Thanks Peter, it’s good to hear positive stories

Hi AJ 

The diagnosis sounds very similar to mine. The treatment isn't easy but it is very doable..as myself and many others on here can testify...the advice on here about Google is spot on...my only other advice is I found walking to be a great help to not only my fitness but it also gave me time to process what I was going through... being a project manager I set myself some goals and really celebrated when I hit them...as hard as it was I really tried to inject some humour into what was often a difficult situation...I also found it was hard on the people around me as they felt a bit helpless .

Good luck 

Chas

HI AJ21  

Myself and my partner are in a similar position although a couple of weeks ahead of you.  He is hopefully starting treatment next week for cancer of the tongue spread into two lymph glands.  It is really difficult but we have found trying to just focus on the day ahead of us and not second guess what the next appointment will hold helpful.  It doesn't always work and we have had difficult days. I found doing things that we enjoyed together where we could, even if just going for a walk or having beans on toast was helpful.  Also finding someone who you can go for a walk with separately and offload some of your concerns in a way that is not distressing for the two of you together.  

Ema

Good luck for today