What a whirlwind, first oncology appointment yesterday , they were so nice & reassuring .On the way home I got a call from them saying they had booked me for a CT scan for today , went for that they also made my mask & did blood tests all in half an hour !! No waiting at all , I also have my dates for when my treatment starts 27th April , I’m just waiting for my RIG appointment now then I’m ready to go . I also received a letter from my general hospital about our last consultation, they mention squamous cell carcinoma p16 negative in my soft pallet & uvula , positive lymph nodes in the right side & possible retropharyngeal lymph node in left side & this would be T1 N3 SCC , I haven’t got a clue what this all means to be honest
Hi Aly, great that they are cracking on
My translation is SCC (a cancer that arises from the cells lining the skin in your throat)
P16 -ve means that the cancer is not Human Papilloma Virus driven
Soft Palate and Uvula you know.....the soft area after the hard roof of your mouth and the uvula....the dangly bit at the back of your throat
Retropharyngeal lymph nodes are under your ears but deeper inside your pharynx...you can't normally see them.
T1 means the cancer is less than 2cm large ( so it's small) N3 is the number of lymph nodes with cancer spread to them
It's all hypothetical though. You're getting gold standard radical radiotherapy for cure.
Onwards and forwards. It will all be done before you know it. This time next year you'll be back to nearly as you were and enjoying life.
Best wishes and hugs
Dani
Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019
