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Right Tonsil Cancer

serenata
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Discovered a lump on my neck in August, had MRI which didn't show any thing then had pet scan which showed a little light on my right tonsil, I had 3 biopsies which 2 confirmed HPV 16. 3 wees ago I had robotic surgery and found the cancer in my right tonsil and now been given an option to have radiotherapy, or surgery to remove tissue under the tonsil and neck dissection to remove lymph nodes to have them tested and then it depends on the results from the pathologist if I will be having any radiotherapy. I'm dreading this surgery but I want to put it all behind me and I feel taking out what shouldn't be there will make me feel better. The surgeon did say to me to prepare me that this surgery is more painful than just having the tonsils out which I'm not looking forward to, I had excruciating pain 3 weeks ago with my first surgery when I had the tonsils out, my tongue was just as bad, I was left under while they were doing a biopsy on my right tonsil maybe that's why my tongue was so painful along with my throat.and pain got worse on the 7th day. Surgery is on the 5th Dec and have to wait and see what they find.......

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    Don't worry too much about the operation.

    Just before we left the UAE, 4 years ago, I had a tonsillectomy of the right tonsil, which turned out to be cancerous. After a PET-CT scan showed me to be tumour free, the team elected to perform a 2nd operation to remove more tissue around the tonsil to check for clear margins & a right neck dissection to examine the lymph nodes for any signs of cancer. 

    This second operation involved swelling around the neck which took a few months to disappear completely, but it was no more painful than the first. In fact, I think the better pain killers that they dished out made it an easier recovery than the first one. Obviously, you treat your neck delicately for a couple of weeks, but nothing too stressful.

    Luckily, I didn't need radio-therapy as everything was clear. I think most people would bite your hand off if you offered them a successful treatment plan that involved an operation in place of radiotherapy to the throat area.

    Wishing you all the best.

    Tim
     

     

  • Offline in reply to Umit

    Thank you Tim for the reply, I have been feeling confused about all this, but now I feel Im making the right descesion to go for the surgery hopefully there's a small chance I might not need radiotherapy....

     

    Juliette

  • Offline in reply to serenata

    My ENT consultant here in the UK, where we are now based, thinks I'm extraordinarily lucky, as I avoided radiotherapy again 9 months after the 1st operation, when I reported to a hospital in Prague with a neck abscess. Not metastatic but a separate cancer in the other tonsil (very rare).

    The Prague team operated the next day and achieved clear margins on the tonsil & the lymph nodes were clear too. That operation was much more complicated than the first one though, due to the abcess, but even then my ENT consultant thinks that I am lucky to have avoided radiotherapy twice.

    It says a lot about the preference for operating when possible. In my opinion, it means you have chosen well if it gives you the chance of avoiding radiotherapy. A lot of patients don't have the option.

    Good luck.

    Tim

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