Update after surgery for Tonsil Cancer

Hiya. 

Yes, I’m on day 28 of 30 at the moment. Had surgery in August and September tonsil out/mucosectomy first then the neck dissection to get the lymph node out. 

My tumour in the lymph node was 45mm so I was 15mm over and as such I entered the 6 week course of RT on the one side of the neck. 

A lot of stories on here from folk and their experiences which you should take into from, I certainly did. You’ve got this

Sooh4496 said:

Has anyone in here had R/T on neck only? 

Are you not having radiotherapy to where the surgeon removed the remains of your tonsil? 

Yes I had voice box cancer and had 30 sessions of RT on all of the neck even though the consultants did not think it had spread.I had a head rear support plus the infamous mask moulded to fit me.Because I am claustrophobic and only treating my neck i had the eye holes cut out-many thanks to Dani for that advice and it worked great.RT burnt both inside and outside,so I had to use a cream and a "bandage" which was brilliant for keeping the scarring down on the outside + they used clingfilm to stop the mask from sticking to my neck.l enjoyed the banter, treatment and the scans except the MRI which was done before the eyeholes were cut out.The darkness and the noise was too much for me and I lasted less than 1 minute.Because at the time it was relatively new to use in the treatment and I had already had 2 CT scans,the consultants were happy they had enough info to carry on with the treatment.3yrs and 3 months later and still cancer free at each review proves they were correct.Sorry it's a bit long winded and may not be fully relevant in your particular case.Take care and be  lucky as I have been with the few side effects,even a couple of  delayed ones,but you just have to plod on.I wish you well.Take care and enjoy the hols as best as you can.Keep asking your team questions instead of fretting over things which may be nothing.

Best regards.

• Bucephalus(Raymond).

No. He said no the margins were fab and he got all the primary. He’s taken all the tissue away. Quite a hole in my throat from what I can see. He said they’ve recently changed their treatment for hpv led. They’ve discovered they’ve been treating it too aggressively. I trust him. He’s a top surgeon. 

Not long winded at all. Thanks for the info. 

Sooh4496 said:

They’ve discovered they’ve been treating it too aggressively. I trust him. He’s a top surgeon. 

Yes there are quite a few trials looking at reducing the radiotherapy dose. HPV led cancer behaves differently from non HPV. 
Hopefully all you’ll get is a sunburned neck.

Thanks Dani. 
yes thank you! I’ve been told on a forum that I need a second opinion. I said he’s a top surgeon I won’t get better, plus like you  say research is changing attitudes to treatment now. 

Sometimes surgeons and oncologists disagree. If further treatment has been needed after surgery I’ve always gone with the oncologist because he is the consultant now in charge. 
What does your oncologist say? 

The oncologist works alongside the surgeon. I’m seeing him within two weeks. My surgeon said if the oncologist goes by the book he’ll suggest chemo too. But he said you definitely don’t need chemo. He said you only need throat RT. He said even the nodes were all clear bar from the swollen one but it needs a mop up in my neck. He said the tonsil primary was totally removed by a very large margin. 

They know what they are doing. I always trusted their judgement. It would be a real bonus if you didn’t have to have your throat treated.

My cancer was at the back of my tongue and inoperable. The tongue is considered a midline organ so I had RT to both sides of my neck but a reduced amount to one side.