Swollen Lymph node in neck

Hi 

my husband has had a swollen lymph node in his neck on the left side for around 8 weeks, we have been lucky and already have had an ultrasound which were told that the Lymph node was enlarged and was around 3cm which was abnormally large for an infection and that they would like him to have a biopsy. We were fast tracked to local ENT we attended there on Friday morning and saw the ENT dmDr who took down family history etc etc, he then put a camera up the nose and down the throat, he Also had a look down the throat and felt with his finger, he then sat us down and said unfortunately he cannot do a biopsy as he can not see the tonsil and couldn’t see any lesions or ulcers, but was more than certain it was a tonsil cancer! He has arranged for further tests MRI, CT guided Biopsy Pet Scan and endoscopy and that they would all discuss in an MDT meeting on the 24th and then will tell us what type of cancer it is on the 26th. We came away totally shocked at the Diagnosis, my husband has had no sore throat, no trouble swallowing, no hoarseness, no night sweats no weight loss, no fever no nothing he feels as fit as a fiddle, I wondered whether this could be something else rather than Cancer of the Tonsil and how can he tell without a biopsy! We’re onviously clutching at straws here and understsndcwe need to have all the tests, also full blood count u&E’s liver function etc came back normal!  Any thoughts or advice please x 

  • Hi I'm sorry but he could be right quite a few people here have gone to doctor for something else only to find out that they have cancer as well. I was being sick a lot I had lots of blood tests and one showed C they then found sickness was caused by hernea I was lucky if not for hernea C could have been found to late. Best of luck. 

    Billy 

  • HinDeeh1 don’t jump to conclusions but your hubbys symptoms seem very slimy to mine I am 8 month post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer given all clear in January. I too had no symptoms no sore throat nothing apartbfrom a swollen lymph node in my right collarbone area. I have written a brief synopsis on here under Radioactiveraz plusa more in detailed blog on 

    https://radioactiveraz.wordpress.com/, when yiu get yiur results if m d t t meeting feel free to contact me if you want any more info 

    wishing you all the best 

    Hazel aka RadioactiveRaz 

  • Hi there Deeh1 and welcome to the small but very supportive group of those who have experienced head and neck cancer and those who support them. I can see Hazel has already popped along to say hi. This is the toughest time - the waiting not knowing one way or the other. Once you know you will be able to process the information more clearly and know what you’ dealing with. 

    My hubby was diagnosed with stage 3 tonsils cancer with lymph node tumours in Dec 2015 after going to our GP with a lump that appeared on the right side of his neck. No sore throat , all his bloods came back normal and he was running 4 miles everyday! We are vegetarian, non smoking , very little alcohol drinking , gym going 50 somethings so this came as a massive shock. Im a nurse and to be honest Id never heard of tonsil cancer! As soon as the ENT Consultant saw where the lump was he said he suspected Tonsil cancer - apparently a lump that appears there with no other symptoms is a big red flag.

    After an USS with FNA , tonsillectomy with multiple biopsies and CT scan with contrast we heard tbe words no one wants to hear.

    However after 5 cycles of Cistplatin chemotherapy and 30 fractions of VMAT radiotherapy plus a neck dissection he has been in remission and cancer free for nearly 3 years.Our Oncolysaid that if she was unlucky enough to get cancer although the treatment is arduous and really tough its very treatable and its the one she would choose !! 

    Try to stay positive- DONT go on Dr Google - it only gives bad news scenarios and old data ! Keep talking to each other - if it us bad news you will need to be a team to get through it. As his wife you will need to be resilient as he will rely on you to be strong but you will need people to lean on too so feel free to send me a friend request if you’d like to chat more.

    Good luck and let us know how you’re getting on and remember if itis the news you dont want to hear then we’re here to offer support if we can. 

    All the best

    Emma 

     

  • Thankyou so much for your reply, I’m just living in hope st the minute that they’ve got it wrong, but I know deep down they haven’t! Xx I hadn’t heard of Tonsil cancer either but I suppose it can appear anywhere! He has an MRI tomorrow so let’s see what that brings x 

    thankyou for messaging me I will keep intouch x 

  • Hi there 

    I’ll keep my fingers crossed and sending loads of positivity for a good outcome xx

    best wishes

    Emma