Hi!

Hi Steve Dont panic I got a similar letter and I was reading it when my 21 year old daughter came in the room  and she could see I was upset. This was the letter from my surgeon to the GP  who had told me two weeks earlier that if my cancer reoccurs there is a couple of things they can do. She said they probably have to write if factually and not sugar coat it . All the Best Regards Minmax 

Hi Steve. Don’t panic. Palliative care means care to make you pain free and comfortable. Pain relief during treatment is palliative. It doesn’t mean end of life. 
P16 is good. It means your cancer is driven by HPV and is more responsive to treatment than if it wasn’t virus caused and is largely curable 

Stay with us. There’s lots if help  and advice here. 

Thanks, Dani.

That's what I was hoping about the meaning of "palliative". It's just confising because the NHS sometimes defines it as meaning the same thing as end of life care.

My cancer is P16 negative (sorry, I just wrote the symbol). I was suprised that it was not P16 positive, as I am 58, non-smoker, non-drinker. Sounds as though it is not as easy to treat P16 negative, but still lots of positive outcomes. Some of the difference seems to be just that P16 positive goes to the neck nodes sooner and so is caught when the primary is smaller. Also, younger people get positive and so tend to do better during treatment. Unless anyone knows otherwise?

Best wishes

Steve

Hi Steve Welcome to the club that none if us wanted to join. . I’m almost 5 years post radiotherapy and chemo for HPV 16+ tonsil cancer with 7 affected lymph nodes  and am happily living my life. Palliative as Dani says  refers to the pain management. Stick with us we will all try to help. Treatments nit easy just take it a day at a time. 
Hazel x

He Steve. Oropharyngeal cancer is treatable and curable. It’s just the treatment that’s pants because it hits a very sensitive and important part of the body. 
As you say, MDT hasn’t met yet so your plan hasn’t been made. It will soon. They are pretty quick on it once you’re in the system.